W. Louis Shipton, Buxton. EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON BY SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER, M.A, F.R.S, F.R.G.S. LATE PACHA AND MAJOR-GENERAL OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE GOLD MEDALLIST OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, AND GRANDE M^DAILLE d'oR DE la SOCIl^T^ DE G^OGRAPHIE DE PARIS AUTHOR OF "rifle AND HOUND IN CEYLON," " ALBERT n'yANZA, GREAT BASIN OF THE NILE," "nILE TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA," " ISMAILIA," ETC. NEW IMPRESSION WITH ILLUSTRATIONS LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 1902 All rights reserved Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2007 witii funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation littp://www.arcliive.org/details/eiglityearsinceylOObakericli Bis I fox PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. Nearly twenty years ago, when settled in the island of Ceylon, I wrote this book. The lapse of this interval of time has produced many important changes ; Ceylon has progressed, and is become one of our most prosperous colonies. My work published in 1855,' closed with these words — * 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 Henry 711 iv PREFACE TO Ward), has a task before him which his well-known energy will doubtless enable him to perform.' Upon the arrival of Sir Henry Ward in the colony, he quickly entered upon reforms ; among which he adopted my suggestions for the restoration of ancient irrigation works. From the advent of Sir H. Ward, the colony has been blessed with good government, and under the able administration of energetic governors, railways have opened up the interior ; excellent roads have cut through the dense jungles, connecting distant points of the island with the capital ; ancient tanks have in several districts been repaired, and the system of artificial irrigation has been successfully renewed. The result of irrigation has been an immense in- crease in the production of rice. I have been informed that in a district that was in my time a dense jungle redolent of malaria, and only inhabited by wild animals, there is now a vast plain comprising 25,000 acres of rice cultivation. This satisfactory advancement is a proof of the correctness of my theories expressed twenty years ago, and the future will develop the extraordinary resources of the country. The recent famine in India is a severe lesson that THE NEW EDITION, v should be a warning to every administration. Ceylon has suffered from the high prices caused by the scarcity of imported grain ; this grave event should determine the necessity of a home production. Should the magnificent irrigation works of the ancients be gradually restored, the population may be relatively increased, not only by the coolies of Malabar, but by an importation of the industrious Chinese. The introduction of that energetic race would infuse a new spirit of rivalry, and the more in- dolent Cingalese would either be outstripped by their competitors, or would be excited to extra exertion. There can be no doubt that Ceylon should be in- dependent of a rice supply from without, and the day will, I believe, arrive when the colony will export instead of importing that great staple of the East. The change that has taken place throughout the coffee districts is extraordinary. Vast forests in which I formerly hunted the elk (sambur deer), and boar, have entirely disappeared. Mountains that were clothed with jungles, damp and dreary solitudes, pathless, and then unknown, are now thriving planta- tions of coffee that have rewarded the industry of their proprietors. The stride of civilization during 7i PREFACE TO the past twenty years has been enormous — * the wilderness has blossomed as the rose.' It is already difficult to procure forest land that is adapted for coffee cultivation, and the time will arrive when every available acre will be made productive. My old home in the mountains of Newera Ellia has shared in the general prosperity, and has bene- fited by the increased wealth of the country. It is now an important station, and is approached by ex- cellent roads, which extend direct to the sea-coast at Batticaloa. The formerly swampy plain of Newera Ellia is about to be converted into a large lake, by the forma- tion of a dam that will prevent the escape of the river. This is intended as an ornament to the now fashionable sanitorium, but a reservoir of water at that elevation (6,200 feet above the sea-level) may be of important service for the future irrigation of the lower country. The Cinchona plant is successfully cultivated in the neighbourhood of Newera Ellia. Tea has been grown of the finest quality, and it is supposed that it will eventually supplant the wild forests of the higher mountains, in the same manner that coffee has usurped their place on lower altitudes. THE NEW EDITION, rii Such is the faint outline of the present condition of Ceylon, which I give upon hearsay ; I have not seen the colony since twenty years. The success of that important island is the happy result of good management; and the able and energetic administrator, Mr. Gregory, who at this moment represents the go- vernment, is one under whom Ceylon cannot fail to advance in material prosperity. I give my old work to the public in its original integrity, as written many years ago when I worked as an early pioneer, and assisted in the advancement of the colony by opening a future for the now prosperous mountain settlement of Newera EUia. Sam. W. Baker. PREFACE. Eight years' wanderings in Ceylon have created a love for this beautiful island which can only be equalled by my affection for Old England, from which the independence of a wild life, combined with an infatuation for rambling into every unvisited nook and corner, sentenced me to a term of voluntary exile. During this period my delight has been in tracing the great natural resources of the country, in obsenr- ing the immense relics of its former prosperity, and contrastmg the past grandeur and energy of an extinct race with the apathetic and selfish policy ol our present system. It is the false economy of our present government to leave untested the actual capabilities of its posses- sions. Thus, while Ceylon remains with ruined tanks, deserted cities, and vast tracts of uncultivated rice X PREFACE, lands, India, governed by the Company, ib advancing in cultivation. New tanks are formed, new canals for irrigation penetrate through hitherto barren jungles, and arouse the soil to fertility. In fact the vigilant eye of the Company is directed to the true resources of the country, and every acre of available land should yield its proportion to the revenue. Without the statistical details which would render a description laborious to the general reader, I shall endeavour to %\v^ an impartial picture of Ceylon as it is, touching lightly upon the past, in order to prove the possibility of improvement for the future. Hav- ing given an account of the sports of the country in the 'Rifle and Hound,' I shall not dwell at too great length upon this topic, how tenipting soever it may be. In these days, when the enterprise of Englishmen is exhibited on so large a scale by the stream of emigration to foreign shores, a few hints may not be uninteresting to the intending settler. We are all more or less sanguine, and, if unguided by the expe- rience of age, we are apt to paint the future too brightly. This is an error which entails disappoint- ment and regret upon the hasty emigrant, who may discover, when far from his deserted home, that the PREFACE, xi paradise which he had pictured to himself is but earthly after all, and is accompanied by drawbacks and hardships which he had not anticipated. It is not every temperament that is fitted for the anxieties of a wild life in a strange land. This many persons who have left England confident in their own strength have discovered, unfortunately, when too late. Englishmen, however, are naturally endowed with a spirit of adventure. There is in the hearts of all a germ of freedom which longs to break through the barriers that confine us to our own shores ; and as the newborn wildfowl takes to water from its deserted egg-shell, so we wander over the world when launched on our own resources. This innate spirit of action is the mainspring of the power of England. Go where you will, from north to south and from east to west, you meet an Englishman. Sail round the globe, and upon every point of strength the Union Jack gladdens your eye, and you think with wonder of the vast possessions which have been conquered, and the immense tracts of country that have been peopled by the overflow of our little island. Among the list of possessions, Ceylon is but a xii PREFACE, Speck ; nevertheless, the act of settling in one colony is a fair sample of the general hardships of emigra- tion. I shall therefore introduce a slight sketch of a settlement in Ceylon, which may give some insight into the little disappointments, inseparable from a new enterprise. The reader will, I trust, wander with me in my rambles through this lovely country, and endeavour to pass an idle hour among the scenes portrayed. CONTENTS. CHAPITER I. PACl Colombo — Dulness of the Town —Cinnamon Gardens — A Cingalese Appo— Ceylon Sport — ^Jungle Fever — Newera EUia — Energy of Sir E. Barnes —Influence of the Governor — Projected Improve- ments I 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' ........ 13 CHAPTER III. Task Completed — The Mountain-top — Change m 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 . 30 CHAPTER IV. Poverty of Soil — Ceylon Sugar— Fatality of Climate — Supposed Fertility of Soil — Native Cultivation — Neglect of Rice Culti- IV CONTENTS. PAGE vation — Abandoned Reservoirs — Fonner Prosperity — Ruins of Cities — Pollanarua — The Great Dagoba — Architectural Relics — The Rock Temple — Destruction of Population — Neglected Capa- bilities — Suggestions for increasing Population— Progress of Pestilence — Deserted Villages— Difficulties in the Cultivation of Rice — Division of Labour — Native Agriculture . . .53 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 8a *.:HAPTER VI. ' Game Eyes ' for Wild Sports — Enjojrments 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 Elephahts — Structure of Skull — Lack of Trophies — Boar Spears and Hunting Knives — * Bertram ' — A Boar-himt — Fatal Cut no CHAPTER VII. Curious Phenomenon — Panorama of Ouva — South-west Monsoon — Hunting Followers — Fort M 'Donald River — ^Jungle Paths — Dangerous Locality — Great Waterfall — Start for Himting — 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 Cor- poral aiid Centipede 145 CONTENTS, CHAPTER Vlll. PAGI* Obsei-vatious on Nature in the Tropics— The Dung Beetle — The Ma>on 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 Elepliants , . . . 197 X CHAPTER IX. Instinct and Reason— Tailor Birds and Grosbeaks— 'I'he 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 .... 220 CHAPTER X. Wild Fruits — Ingredients for a Soupe viaigre — Oiclu.laceous Plants — Wild Nutmegs— Native Oils— Cinnamon — Pnmeval Forests — Valuable Woods— The Mahawelli River — Variety of Palms - Cocoa-nut Toddy — Arrack- Cocoa-nut Oil— Cocoa-nut Planting— The Talipot Palm — The Areca Palm— Betel Chewing — Sago Nuts — Variety of Bees — Waste of Bees- wax— Edible Fun<;i — Narcotic Puff Ball — Intoxicating Drugs— Poisoned Cakes —The * Sack Tiee '' — No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon 250 CHAPTER XI. Indigenous Productions —Botanical Gardens — Suggested Experi- ments — Lack of Encouragement to Gold-diggers — The Prospects of Gold-digging— We want * Nuggets ' — Who is to Blame ? — Governor's Salary — Fallacies of a Five Years' Reign — Neg- lected Education of the People— Responsibilities of Conquest — Progress of Christianity 294 f. B ifvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. PAr.E The Pearl Fishery — Desolation of the Coast — Harbour of Trin- comalie— Fatal Attack by a Shark — Ferocious Crocodiles — Salt Monopoly — Salt Lakes — Method of Collection — Neglect of Ceylon Hides — Fish and Fishing — Primitive Tackle — Oyster and Penknives — A Night Bivouac for a Novice — No Dinner, but a good Fire — Wild Yams and Consequences — The Elephants' Duel — A Hunting Hermitage— * Bluebeard's ' Last Hunt — The Leopard — ' Bluebeard's ' Death — Leopard Shot . . 32,^ CHAPTER XIIL 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 .... 360 ILLUSTRATIONS. A LEOPARD KILLED BY A COW .... frontispiece CURIOUS SHOT AT A BULL ELEPHANT . . . tO focc page I3I WILD BOAR HUNT „ I43 THE elk's leap ....... ,, 169 ATTACK ON THE HERD ,, 238 NIGHT SCENE „ 366 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. CHAPTER I. Colombo — Dulness of the Town— Cinnamon Gardens — A Cingalese Appo— Ceylon Sport — Jungle Fever — Newera Ellia — Energy of Sir E. Barnes — Influence of the Governor — Projected Improvements. It was in the year 1845 that the spirit of wandering allured me towards Ceylon ; — little did I imagine at that time that I should eventually become a settler. The descriptions of its sports, and the tales of hair- breadth escapes from elephants, which I had read in various publications, were sources of attraction against which I strove in vain ; and I at length determined upon the very wild idea of spending twelve months in Ceylon jungles. It is said that the delights of pleasures in anticipa- tion exceed the pleasures themselves : in this case doubtless some months of great enjoyment passed in making plans of every description, until I at length arrived in Colombo, Ceylon's seaport capital. 2 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. i. 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 harbour in Mauritius, there were a few vessels rolling about in the roadstead, and some forty or fifty fishing canoes hauled np on the sandy beach. There was a peculiar dulness throughout the town, — a sort of something which seemed to say, * coffee does not pay.' There was a want of spirit in ever>'thing. The ill-conditioned guns upon the fort looked as though not intended to defend it ; the sentinels looked par- boiled ; the very natives sauntered rather than walked ; the bullocks crawled along in the mid-day sun, listlessly dragging the native carts. Every- thing and everybody seemed enervated, except those frightfully active people in all countries and climates, ' the custom-house officers : ' these neces- sary plagues to society gave their usual amount of annoyance. What struck mc the most forcibly in Colombo was the want of shops. In Port Louis the wide and well- paved streets were lined with excellent * Magazins * of every description ; here, on the contrary, it was difficult to find anything in the shape of a shop until CHAP. 1. CINNAMON GARDENS 3 I was introduced to a joi-disant store, where every- thing that was to be purchased, from a needle to a crowbar, and from satin to sail-cloth ; the useful pre- dominating 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 Colpetty, — topes of cocoa-nut trees shading the road, and the houses of the better class of European residents to 4 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chak i. 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 orna- mental 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 petti- coats, 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 pet- ticoats ; 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. ciiAi'. I. CEYLON SPORT. 5 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, &c. &c. I was soon engaged in conversation, and one of my first questions naturally turned upon sport. * Sport r 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 exaggera- tions ; in fact, inventions to give interest to a book. I have an estate in the interior, and I have never seen a wild elephant. There may be a few in the jungles of Ceylon, but very few, and you never see them.' 1 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 from the first shock which his exclamation * there is no sport in Ceylon ! ' had given me. b EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap i. I subsequently discovered that my new and non- sporting acquaintances were cofifee 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 hun- dred 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 15th 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 com menced. I rented a good airy house in Colombo as head- quarters, and the verandahs were soon strewed with jungle-baskets, boxes, tent, g^n cases, and all the paraphernalia for 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 CHAP. 1. NEWER A ELLIA. 7 order from my medical attendant to start Ibr the highlands, to the mountainous region of Newera Ellia, the sanatorium 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 de- bility that creates an utter hopelessness of the renewal of strength. 1 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 beefsteak, black bread, and potatoes were the choicest and only viands obtain- able 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 t Simply, that at the expira- tion 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 had been ; and in proof of this, I started instanter for another shooting excursion in the interior. It was impossible to have visited Newera Ellia, and to have benefited in such a wonderful manner by the climate, without contemplating with astonish- ment its poverty-stricken and neglected state. At that time it was the most miserable place conceivable. There was a total absence, of all ide.is 8 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. i. 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 sanatorium. It was he who opened the road, not only to Newera EUia, but for thirty-six miles further on the same line to Badulla. At his own expense he built a substantial mansion, at a cost, as it is said, of 8,000/., and, with provident care for the health of the European troops, he erected barracks and officers' quarters for the invalids. Under his government Newera EUia was rapidly becoming a place of importance, but^ unfortunately, at the expiration of his term the place became neg lected. His successor took no interest in the plans of his predecessor ; and from that period, each succes- sive governor, being influenced by an increasing spirit of parsimony, Newera Ellia has remained * in statu quo,' not even having been visited by th^ present governor. In a small colony like Ceylon, it is astonishing how the movements and opinions of the governoi influence the public mind. In this instance, how- ever, the movements of the governor (Sir G. Ander- CHAP. I. INFLUENCE OI' THE GOVERNOR. g son) 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 colours, and cannot have other than a bad moral tendency. Upon my first visit to Ncwcra 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 should be 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 lo EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, i 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 1 1 5 miles, and . from Kandy forty-seven miles, the last thirteen being the Rambodd^ Pass, arriving at an elevation of 6,600 feet, from which point a descent of two miles terminated the road to Newera EUia. The station then consisted of about twenty pri- vate residences, the barracks and officers' quarters, the Rest-house and the Bazaar, the latter containing about 200 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, com- manding 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 build- ing-stone was procurable everywhere ; limestone at a distance of five miles. The whole of the adjacent country was a repeti- tion of the Newera Ellia plain with slight variations, comprising a vast extent of alternate swampy plains u.!ul dense forests. CHAP. 1. PROJECTED IMPROVEMENTS, ii 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 imagina- tion 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 barren- ness ? 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 EUia, 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 com- pleted, I returned to England delighted with what T 13 EIGHT YEAKS IN CEYLON. chap. i. had seen of Ceylon in general ; but, above all, with my short visit to Newera Ellia, malgr^ its barren- ness and want of comfort, caused rather by the neglect of man, than ^'^y the lack of resources in the locality. 13 CHAPTER II. Past Scenes — Attractions of Ceylon — Emigration — Difficulties in Settling— Accidents and Casualties — An Eccentric Groom — Insub- ordination — Commencement of Cultivation — Sagacity of the Ele- phant — 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 had happened within the past year, I conjured up localities to my memory which seemed too attractive to have existed in reah'ty. I wandered along London streets, comparing the noise and bustle with the deep sohtudes of Ceylon, and I felt like the sickly plants in a London parterre. I wanted the change to my former life. I constantly 14 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, ik 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 deter- mined to become a settler at Newera Ellia, where I could reside in a perfect climate, and never- theless 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 gipsy-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 sug- gested ; and I trusted to be enabled to effect such a change in the rough face of Nature in that locality as to render a residence at Newera Ellia something approaching to a country life in England, with the advantage of the whole of Ceylon for my manor, and no expense of gamekeepers. CHAP. II. EMIGRATION: 15 To carry out these ideas, it was neccssaiy to set to work ; and I determined to make a regular settle- ment 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, in- cluding a blacksmith, were to sail for my intended settlement in Ceylon. I purchased farming implements of the vao'A im- proved descriptions, seeds of all kinds, saw-mills, &c. &c., 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 favourite grey- hound (* Bran ). My brother had determined to accompany me; and with emigrants, stock, machinery, hounds, and our respective families, the good ship * Earl of Hard- wicke,' belonging to Messrs. Green and 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 C |6 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chav. ii to the proper spot for the settlement, as Noah's dove experienced in its flight from the Ark. However, I wandered over the neighbouring plains and jungles of Newera KUia, 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 towards 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 abso- lutely necessary that cottages should be built with the CHAP. II. DIFFICULTIES OF SETTLING. 17 greatest expedition, I was obliged to offer an exorbi- tant rate of wages. In about a fortnight, however, the wind and rain showed flags of truce, in the shape of white clouds set in a blue sky. The gale ceased, and the skylarks warbled high in air, giving life and encouragement to the whole scene. It was like a beautiful cool mid- summer in England. I had about eighty men at work ; and the constant click-clack of axes, the falling of trees, the noise of saws and hammers, and the perpetual chattering of coolies, gave a new character to the wild spot upon which I had fixed. The work proceeded rapidly ; neat white cottages soon appeared in the forest ; and I expected to have everything in readiness for the emigrants on their arrival. I rented a tolerably good house in Newera Ellia, and so far everything had progressed well. The * Earl of Hardwicke ' arrived after a pros- perous voyage, with passengers and stock all in sound health ; the only casualty on board had been 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 * short horn,' and she weighed about 1 3 cwt. She was so fat that a march of 1 1 5 miles in a tropical climate was impossible. Accord- ingly a van was arranged for her, which the maker c 2 1 8 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap ii. 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, was to be the maximum march during the journey. The emigrants started per coach, while our party drove up in a new clarence which 1 had brought from England. I mention this, as its un- timely end will be shortlj' seen. Four government elephant carts started with machinery, farming implements, &c. &c., while a troop of bullock bandies carried the lighter goods. I had a tame elephant waiting at the foot of the Newera EUia Pass to assist in carrying up the baggage and maid-servants. There had been a vast amount of trouble in making all the necessary arrangements; but the start was completed, and at length we were all fairly off. In an enterprise of this kind many disappoint- ments were necessarily to be expected, and I had prepared myself with the patience of Job for any- thing that might happen. It was well that T had done so, for it was soon put to the test. Having reached Rambodde, at the foot of the CHAP n. ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES. 19 Newera EUia 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 EUia, 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 the elephant to bring some luggage from Ram- bodd6. 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 : — Honor'' Zur I'm sorry to hinform you that the carrige and osses has met with a haccidinf and is tumbled down a preccippice and its a mussy as I didn't go too. The preccippice isn't very deep being not above heighty feet or therabouts — the bosses is got up but is very bad — the carrige lies on its back and we can't stir it nohow. M'. is very kind, and has lent above a hunderd niggers, but they aint no more use than cats at liftin Plese Zur come and see whats to be dore. Your 11 umbel Serv*, n. Perkes. 20 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. ii. 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 full gallop round a corner, over went the carriage and horses. On my return to Newera Ellia I found a letter informing me that the short- horn cow had halted at Amberpuss6, 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 com- menced. The carriage still lay inverted ; and although a tolerable specimen of a smash, I deter- mined to pay a certain honour to its remains, by not CHAP. II. AN ECCENTRIC GROOM. 21 allowing it to lie and rot upon the ground. Ac- cordingly 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 hauUng 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 Mohout 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 ap- peared 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 refresh- ment in the shape of brandy and water, and then, to use his own expression, 'tooled the old elephant along till he came to a stand-still.' He literally forced the poor beast up the steep Pass for seven miles, till it fell down and shortly after died. 22 RIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chai-. ii. 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 dnmk, 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 dis- figurement 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 maid-servants, and he was altogether the most incorrigible scamp that I ever met with, although I must do him the justice to say he was thoroughly honest and industrious. I shortly experienced great trouble with the emi- grants ; they could not agree with the bailiff, and openly defied his authorit}'. I was obliged to send two of them to gaol 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 CHAP. 11. COMMENCEMENT OF CULTIVATION. 23 mass, and levelling the cleared land in a state to receive the plough. This was very expensive work, amounting to about 30/. 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), which was in appearance black loam on the higher ground, and of a peaty nature in the swamps. The bailiff (Mr. Fowler) was of opinion that the patina soil was the best ; therefore, while the large native force was engaged in sweeping the forest from the surface, operations were commenced according to agricultural rules upon the patinas. A tract of land known as the ' Moon Plains,' com- prising about two hundred acres, was immediately commenced upon. As some persons considered the settlement at Newera Ellia the idea of a lunatic, the * Moon Plain ' was an appropriate spot for the experi- ment. A tolerable level field of twenty acres was fenced in, and the work began by firing the patina and burning off all the grass. Then came three teams as follows : — Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an ele- 24 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, ii phant ; a skim, drawn by another elephant ; and a long wood plough, drawn by eight bullocks. The field being divided into three sections, was thus quickly pared of the turf, the patent cultivator working admirably, and easily drawn by the elephant. The weather being very dry and favourable 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 com* pleted, 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 those 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 that 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 CHAP. II. SAGACITY OF THE ELEPHANT 25 the land had its first and second harrowing and rolling at the same time. 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 stems 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 mouthy 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 intended to lie on either bank of the stream parallel to the brook and close to the edge. These she placed with the greatest care in their exact positions, unassisted by any one." She rolled them gently over with her head, then with one foot, and ' Directed of course by her driver. 26 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. ii. 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 «nches above ground than they were subjected to the nocturnal visits of elk and hogs in such numbers that they were almost wholly destroyed. A crop of potatoes of about three acres on the newly-cleared forest land was totally devoured by grubs. The bull and stock were nearly starved on the miserable pasturage of the country, and no sooner had the clover sprung up in the new clearings than the Southdown ram got hoven upon it and died. The two remaining rams, not having been accustomed to much high living since their arrival at Newera Ellia, got pugnacious upon the clover, and in a pitched battle the Leicester ram killed the Cotswold — and CHAP. II. 'DEATH' IN THE SETTLEMENT 27 remained solus. An epidemic appeared among the cattle, and twenty-six fine bullocks died within a few days ; five Australian horses died during the first year, and everything seemed to be going into the next world as fast as possible. Having made up my mind to all manner of dis- appointments, 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 had 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 notJdng would thrive. This had been a great disappointment, as much difficulty lay in procuring the necessary item. 28 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, ii 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 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 neighbourhood 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 excepting 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, &c., produce crops as heavy as those of England. Potatoes, being the staple article of production, are principally cultivated, as the price of 20/. 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 CHAP. II. SUCCESS OF EMIGRANTS. 29 well. One of the emigrants who left my service returned to England in three years with three hun- dred 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 Cyclops' spouse. She was wielding an eighteen-pound sledge-hammer, 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. EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. hi. CHAPTER III. Task Completed — The Mouutaiii-top — Change in ihc P^ace of Nature — Original Importance of Newera Ellia — * The Path of a Thousand Princes' — Vestiges of Former Population — Mountains — The High- lands 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 (6,200 feet), and I accordingly esta- blished 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 CHAP. 111. TASK COMPLETED. 31 green ; the axe no longer sounded in the forest ; 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 EUia was over- crowded with visitors, and nearly empty during the other months of the year. All Ceylon people dread the wet season at Newera EUia, which continues from June to De- cember. 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 falls at this elevation compared to that of the low country. It may be more continuous, but it is of a lighter character, and more akin to * Scotch mist.' The clear days during the wet season are far more lovely than the constant glare of the summer D 32 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. m. months, and the rays of the sun are not so power- ful. 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 8,300 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 CHAP. III. CHANGE IN THE EACE OF NATURE. 33 fairy sea ; and far, how far his eye can scan, where the faint line upon the horizon marks the ocean ! Moun- tain 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 ovei the sea of mist below ; the rays dart lightning-like upon the eastern sky ; the mighty orb rises in all the fulness of his majesty, recalling the words of Omni- potence, — * 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, ahke 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 ! D 2 34 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. in. Comparatively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia was undiscovered— a secluded plain among the mountain- tops, tenanted by the elk and boar. The wind swept over it, and the mists hung around the moun- tains, 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 pro- duce of the lanc\ Here, where wild forest 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 hov/led above its head, when all was wilderness around. The eagle has roosted in its top, the monkeys have gambolled 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 church- CHAP. III. IMPORTANCE OF NEWER A ELLIA. 35 yard lies beneath its shade. The church bell sounds where the elephant trumpeted ot yore. The sun- beam 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 im- provement 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. Although the country is wild, and in many por- tions unvisited by Europeans, still every high moun- tain, and every little plain, in this wilderness of forest, is not only known to the natives of the adjacent low country, but has its separate designation. There is no feature without its name, although the immense tract of mountains 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 cen- turies, and are used by the natives even to this day. 3^ EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, hi The great range of forest-covered Newera Ellia mountains divides the two districts of Ouva and Kotmalee, and these paths have been formed to connect the two by an arduous ascent 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 track. The notches on the tree-stems 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 moun- tain-top, the very act of traversing it appears im- possible. 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 CHAP. HI. 'THE PATH OF A THOUSAND PRJNCES: 37 island like Ceylon, which, in every portion, exhibits traces of former prosperity and immense popula- tion. Even these uninhabited and chilly regions, up to an elevation of 7,000 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 ex- tremity of the Newera Ellia plain, where the road commences a sudden descent towards EaduUa, thirty-three miles distant. This spot, forming a shallow gap, was the ancient native entrance to Newera Ellia from that side, and the Cingalese de- signation 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 remaming, no ruins, as in other parts of Ceylon, but a liquid mine of wealth poured from these lofty regions. The importance of Newera 38 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON, chap. hi. Ellia lay; first, in its supply of ivater, and, secondly, in its gems. In all tropical countries, the first principle of cultivation is irrigation, 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 the supply of water. Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs from which the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the country. The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedro- tallagalla, 8,280 feet ; Kirigallapotta, 7,900 ; Tota- pella, 8,000 ; and Adam's Peak, 7,700, &c. ; but al- though their height 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 cf 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. Fiom these comparatively level tracts and swampy CHAP, m MOUNTAINS. 39 plains, the rivers of Ceylon derive then source, and the three loftiest peaks take their base ; Pedrotalia- galla rising from the Newera Ellia Plain, Totapella, and Kirigallapotta from the Horton Plains. The whole of the highland district is thus com- posed of a succession of ledges of great extent at various elevations, commencing with the highest, the Horton Plains, 7,000 feet above thesea. Seven hundred feet below the Horton Plains, 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, stretch- ing still further 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 Dim- boola form the third ledge. Nine miles to the east of Newera Ellia, at a lower elevation of 1,500 feet, stretches the Ouva country, forming the fourth ledge. " The forests have now been cleared, ajid this district is in cofTet cultivation. iu EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iji. The features of this countr>' are totally distinct from any other portion of Ceylon. A magnificent view extends as far as the horizon, of undulating open grass land, diversified by the rich crops of paddy which are grown in each of the innumerable small valleys formed by the undulations of the ground. Not a tree is to be seen except the low brushwood which is scantily distributed upon its sur- face. We emerge suddenly from the forest-Covered mountains of Newera EUia, and, from a lofty point on the high road to Badulla, we look down upon the splendid panorama stretched like a waving sea be- neath 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. Descending until we reach Wilson's Plain, nine miles from Newera Ellia, we arrive in the district of Ouva, as much like the Sussex Downs as any place to which it can be compared. This district comprises about six hundred square miles, and forms the fourth and last ledge of the highlands of Ceylon. Passes from the mountains which form the wall-like boundaries of this table- land descend to the low country in various directions CHAP. HI. THE HIGHLANDS OF OUVA. 41 The whole of the Ouva district upon the one side, and of the Kotmalee district on the other side, of the Newera Ellia range of mountains, are, with the ex- ception of the immediate neighbourhood 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 this supply with that formerly required. 42 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. hi. 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 labour. For many miles the water is con- ducted from the mountains through dense forests, across ravines, round the steep sides of opposing hills, now leaping into a lower valley into a reservoir, from which it is again led through this arduous country until it at length reaches the land wliich it is destined to render fertile. There has been a degree of engineering skill dis- played in forming aqueducts through such formidable obstacles ; the hills are lined out in every direction with these proofs of industry, and their winding course can be traced round the grassy sides of the steep mountains, while the paddy fields are seen miles away in the valleys of Ouva stretched far be- neath. At least eight out of ten of these water-courses are dry, and the masonry required in the sudden angles of ravines has in most cases fallen to decay. Even those aqueducts 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. CHAP. III. ANCIENT METHODS OF IRRIGATION. 43 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 accumu- lated 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 order ; these are now waving with wild vegetation and rank- lemon grass. The remaining traces of stone walls point out the ancient boundaries far above the secluded valleys now in cultivation. The nation has vanished ; and with it the industry and perseverance of the era. We now arrive at the cause of the former im- portance of Newera EUia, 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 neighbourhood of Newera EUia. Therefore a king in possession of Newera EUia had the most complete command over his subjects ; he could either give or withhold the 44 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. hi. 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 astonish- ment that the present vale 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 blood-thirsty 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. There is little doubt that the existence of precious gems at Newera Ellia may have been accidentally discovered in digging the numerous water-courses CHAP. Ill THE VALE OF RUBIES. 45 in the vicinity : there is, however, no doubt that at some former period the east end of the plain, called the 'Vale of Rubies,' constituted the Royal ' Diggings.' That the king of Kandy did not reside at Newera Ellia there is little wonder, as a monarch delighting in a temperature of 85° Fahr. would have regarded the climate of a mean temperature of 60° Fahr. as we should that of Nova Zembla. We may take it for granted, therefore, that when the king came to Newera Ellia his visit had some object, and we presume that he came to look at the condition of his water-courses, and to supermtend the digging for precious stones ; in the same manner that Ceylon governors of past years visited Arippo during the pearl fishing. The ' diggings ' of the kings of Kandy must have been conducted on a most extensive scale. Not only has the Vale of Rubies been regularly turned up for many acres, but all the numerous plains in the vicinity are full of pits, some of very large size and of a depth varying from three to seventeen feet. The Newera Ellia Plain, the Moon-stone Plain, the Kon- dapall6 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 46 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. cha?. hi. 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, ' moon-stone,* and * star-stone.* Occasionally a stone of value rewards the patient digger ; but, unless he thoroughly understands it, he is apt to pass over the gems of most value as pieces of ironstone. The mineralogy of Ceylon has hitherto been little understood. It has often been suggested as the CHAP. III. DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 47 * 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 towards 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 everyone in Ceylon, and to the utter confusion of Dr. Davy's opinions, they actually dis- covered gold ! The quantity was small ; but the men were very E 4.S EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, iil sanguine of success, and were making their prepara- tions for working on a more extensive scale, when they were all prostrated by jungle fever ; a guardian- spirit of the gold at Ambepuss6, which will ever effectually protect it from Europeans. They all returned to Colombo, and, when conva- lescent, 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 of June, 1854, on the second day of their search in that locality. This 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, it gold should exist, it would, from its giavity, be some- where below the precious stones, or in their vicinity. From the facility with which it has been dis- covered, 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 CHAP. III. MINERAL RhSOURCES. 49 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, con- sisting of granite, gneiss, and quartz. Of these the two latter predominate. Dolomite also exists in large quantities up to an elevation of 5,000 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 Bel- ligam, 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 at- tending it, as the suppl} is inexhaustible. Its com • ponent 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 decay, has the appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with plumbago. It exists in this state 50 EIGITT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. hi. in immense ' masses, and forms a valuable building- stone, as it can be cut with ease to any shape re- quired, and though soft when dug, it hardens by exposure to the air. It has also the valuable pro- perty of withstanding the greatest heat ; and for fur- nace building it is equal to Stourbridge fire-bricks. The finest quality of iron is found upon the moun- tains in various forms, from the small ironstone gravel to large masses of many tons in weight, pro- truding from the earth's surface. So valuable is that considered at Newera Ellia and the vicinity, that the native blacksmiths have been accustomed fr.jm 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 follow : — 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 plat- form, 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 CHAP. Ill NATIVE BLACKSMITHS. 51 charcoal and pulverised iron ore ; the fire is lighted, and the piocess 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 labour 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 cane 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 cor- responding amount of charcoal, every now and then throwing in a handful of fine sand as a flux. The return for a whole day's pufiing and blowing will be about twenty pounds weight of badly smelted iron. This is subsequently remelted, and is eventually 52 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON, chap. hi. worked up into hatchets, hoes, betel-crackers, &c. tJtc., 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 metal 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 dis- cover 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 ; there- fore, if they want an article, and can produce it with- out 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. 53 CHAPTER IV. PoYerty 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 — Destmction of Population — Neglected Capabilities — Sug- gestions for Increasing Population — Progress of Pestilence— Deserted Villages— Difficulties in the Cultivation of Rice — Division of Laboui — Native Agriculture. From the foregoing description, the reader will have inferred that Newera Ellia is a delightful place of residence, with a mean temperature of 60° Fahr., abounding with beautiful views of mountain and plain, and of boundless panoramas in the vicinity. He will also have discovered that, in addition to the 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 agricul- turist, was equally deceived.^ He was very confident 54 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 EUia and the vicinity is superior to that in other parts of Ceylon. There are necessarily rich lots every now and then in such a large extent as the surface of the low country ; but these usually lie on the banks of rivers which have been subjected to inundations, and they are not fair samples o\ 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 will 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, CHAP. IV. CEYLON SUGAR. 55 sugar does not pay the proprietor. The only sugar estate in the island that can keep its head above water, is the Peredenia estate, within four miles of Kandy. This, again, lies upon the bank of the Mahawelli river, and it has also the advantage of a home market for its produce, as it supplies the in- terior of Ceylon at the rate of 23^. 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 exami- nation of the soil. I am convinced that no soil in Ceylon will produce a sample of fine straw-coloured, dry, bright, large crystallized sugar The finest sample ever produced of Ceylon sugar is a dull grey ; and always moist ; requiring a very large proportion of lime in the manufacture, without which ii- could neither be cleansed nor crystallized. 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 im- mense proportion of mucilage, which will give much 5*^ EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. trouble in the cleansing during boiling , and the sugar produced must be wanting in dryness and fine colour. 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 * Koom- bookanaar,' &c. ; 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 par- ticularly 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 e^ive tJie ciiAi'. IV. SUPPOSED FERTILITY OF SOIL. 57 estate a name which would deprive it of all future supplies of labour. Indigo is indigenous to Ceylon ; but it is of an inferior quality, and an experiment made in its culti- vation 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 fer- tility. 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,' &c. &c. Again : * Ceylon, though com- paratively 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 ra- pidity ; but these experiments are no proof of what Ceylon will produce, and the popular idea of its fer- tility has been at length proved a delusion. It is a dangerous thing for any man to sit down 58 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 despe- rately 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 ' Chdnars ' 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), extensive coracana, Indian corn, millet, and pumpkins, ' It has been satisfactorily proved that although the soil of Ceylon is poor, it is nevertheless peculiarly adapted for the growth of wood. Thus such shrubs as coffee, tea, cinnamon, and cinchona, arrive at great perfection. CHAR IV. NATIVE CULTIVATION. 59 all growing together, and harvested as they respectively become ripe. The principal articles of native cultivation are rice, korrakan, Indian corn, betel, areca nuts, pump- kins, onions, garlic, gingelly-oil seed, tobacco, millet, red peppers, curry seeds, and sweet potatoes. The staple articles of Ceylon production are coffee, cinnamon, and cocoa-nut oil ; which are, for the most part, cultivated and manufactured by Europeans. The chief article of native consumption, ' rice/ should be an export from Ceylon ; but there has been an unaccountable neglect on the part of Government regarding the production of this important grain, for the supply of which Ceylon is mainly dependent upon importation. In the hitherto overrated general re- sources of Ceylon, the cultivation of rice has scarcely been deemed worthy of notice ^ the all-absorbing subject of coffee cultivation has withdrawn the atten- tion 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 propor- ' tionate increase in the consumption of rice, by the additional influx of cooly labour from the coast of India; therefore the price and supply of rice in Ceylon becomes a que.stion of similar im- 6o EIGHT YEARS TN CEYLON. chap iv portance to the price of corn in England. This dependence upon a foreign soil for the supply in- volves the necessary fluctuations in price, caused by uncertain arrivals and precarious harvests ; and the importance of an unlimited quantity 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 he idle and out of repair ; the pelican sails in solitude upon their surface, 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 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 pwelt within their walls. All are passed away ; and in the wreck of former ages we trace the great resources of the country which produced sufficient food to support cxiAP. TV. ABANDONED RESERVOIRS. 6i millions ; while for the present comparatively bmall population, Ceylon is dependent upon imports. These lakes, or tanks, were works of much art and of immense labour, 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 neighbouring or distant rivers were con- ducted 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's Tank. These are from fifteen to twenty- five miles in circumference ; but in former times, when the sluices were in repair and the volume of water at its full height, they must have been much larger. In those days the existence of a reservoir of water was a certain indication of a populous and flourishing neighbourhood ; and the chief cities of the country were accordingly situated in places which were always certain of a supply. So careful 62 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 re- mained 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 cast to the interminable 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 food, wealth, and life. CHAP. TV. RUINS OF CITIES. 63 The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the former amount of population, and the com- parative civilisation which existed at that remote era among the progenitors of the present degraded race of barbarians. The ruins of * Anaradupoora/ which cover 256 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 rums of all the ancient cities of Ceylon, which renders a de- scription tedious. Those of * Anaradupoora * are the largest in extent, and the buildings appear to have been more lofty, the great dagoba having exceeded 400 feet in height ; but the ruins do not exhibit the same ' finish ' in the style of archi- tecture which is seen in the remains of other towns. Among these * Topare,' anciently called * Pol- lanarua,' 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 ¥ 64 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, iv 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 nocks 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 labourers and cattle till the ground : the sturdy buffaloes straining at the plough, the women laden with golden sheaves of corn, and CUAP. rv. POLLANARUA. 65 baskets of fruit, crowding along the palm-shaded road winding towards 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 mid-day sun. Such let us suppose the exterior of PoUanarua. 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'ceilj 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 250, form 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 F2 66 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON, chap. yv. having the appearance of white marble, being covered with polished stucco, ornamented with figures in bas-relief. The dagoba is a solid mass of brick- work 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, highly ornamented with 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 orna- mented 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 ofT 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, ter- minating in four gates or entrances to the town — north, south, east, and west. Continuing along the mam street from the great dagoba for about a mile, we face another dagoba of CHAP. IV. POLLANARUA, 67 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 corners by narrow octagon towers. At the farther 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 old ; ' 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 |X)rches 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 gigan- tic idols before whom millions have bowed ; there is the same vacant stare upon their features of rock which grazed upon the multitudes of yore ; but they 68 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 befel those hosts of heathens, nor when they vanished from the earth. Day and night suc- ceed 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 mould- ering brickwork, stili 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 appear- ance 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 im- perishable nature, that they still adhere to each other in large masses in spots where portions of the build- ings have fallen. In one portion of the ruins there are a number of CHAP. IV. THE GREAT DA GOB A. b^ beautiful fluted columns, with carved capitals, still remaining in a perfect state. Among these are the remains of a large flight of steps ; near them, again, a stone-lined tank, which was evidently intended as a bath ; and everything denotes the original comfort and arrangement of a first-class establishment. There are innumerable relics, all interesting and worthy of individual attention, throughout the ruins over a sur- face of many miles ; but they are mostly overgrown with jungle or covered with rank grass. The appa- rent 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 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 mere 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 TO EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 plane 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 further 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 sculp- ture 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 300 years before Christ, and is supposed to have been in ruins for upwards of 600 years. The comparatively recent date of its destruction renders its obscurity the more mysterious, as there is no mention made of its anni- hilation in any of the Cingalese records, although the city is constantly referred to during the time of its prosperity in the native history of Ceylon. It CHAP. IV. DESTRUCTION OF POPULATION. 71 is my opinion that its destruction was caused by famine. In those days the kings of Ceylon were perpetu- ally at variance. 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 tliose 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 be exhausted, but the whole of the connected chain of tanks 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 72 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON, chap. iv. 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 CHAP. IV. DESTRUCTION OF POPULATION. 73 cultivation. Is it therefore a mystery that Ceylon is covered with such vast tracts of thorny jungle now that her inhabitants are gone t 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 exempli- fied 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 culti- vation. 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 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 indica) upon the decaying summit of a dagoba. This, germinating, has struck its roots downwards 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 74 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 He 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 « high road to Kandy. This tank, when the dam and sluices are repaired, would rise to about nine feet above its present k^el, 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 had on easy terms, and the country would soon resume its original prosperity. A tax of five per cent, upon the produce of the land, to com- mence in the ratio of o per cent for the first year, three per cent for the second and third, and the full amount of five for the fourth, would be a fair and easy CHAP. IV. SUGGESTION FOR INCREASING rOPULATION. 75 rent to the settler, and would not only repay the Government for the cost of repairing the tank, but would in a few years become a 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 culti- vation would render necessary, would tend in a great measure to dispel the fevers and malaria always pro- duced by a want of free circulation of air. In a jungle-covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the most malignant character are harboured in those 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 towards these shady warders of cultivation in hopes of 76 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 che 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 neighbourhood, 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 200 men, is reduced by sickness to a population of 100. The remaining 100 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 decimates the population. In each successive year the wretched CHAP. IV. DESERTED VILLAGES. 77 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 monu- ments 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 the palms 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 neigh- bourhood ; but at present there is no place of refuge. It is. therefore, a matter of certainty that the repair 78 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 labour of constructing dams and forming water-courses is performed by a general gathering, similar to the American principle of a ' Bee ; ' and, as ' many hands make light work,' the cultivation pro- ceeds with great rapidity. Thus a large population can bring into tillage a greater individual proportion of ground than a smaller number of labourers, 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 that it is required ; and other numerous difficulties, which are scarcely felt by a large population. By the latter the advantage is enjoyed of the CHAP. IV. DIFFICULTIES IN CULTIVATING RICE, 79 division of labour. The dams are built of permanent material ; every work is rapidly completed ; the night-fires blaze in the lofty watch-houses, while the shouts of the watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. Hundreds of children are daily screaming from their high perches to scare away the birds. Rattles worked by long lines extend in every direc- tion, unceasingly pulled by the p'eople 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 watei insured 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 dis- trict would again exist, where all has been a wilder- ness for 1 ,000 years. The system of rice cultivation is exceedingly laborious. The first consideration being a supply of water, the second 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 re- quisite embankments, be reduced to the most perfect surface. G 8o EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. iv. 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 3eep. In this state it is then trodden over by buffaloes, driven backwards and forwards in large gangs, until the mud is so tho- roughly mixed, that upon the withdrawal of the water it sinks to a perfect level. Upon this surface the paddy, having been pre- viously 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 con- tinued 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 Cinga- lese particularly excel ; nothing can be more beauti- fully regular than their flights of green terraces from the bottoms of the valleys to the very summits of the hills ; the labour required in their formation must be CHAP. IV. NATIVE AGRICULTURE. 8i immense, as they are frequently six feet one above the other. The Cingalese are peculiarly a rice- growing nation ; give them an abundant supply of water and land on easy terms. 62 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chai». v CHAPTER V. Real Cost of Land — Want of Communication — Coffee-planting — Com- parison between French and English Settlers- Landslips — Forest Clearing — Manuring — The Coffee Bug — Rats— Fatted Stock — Sug gestions for Sheep Farming — Attack of a Leopard — Leopards and Chetahs — Boy Devoured — Traps — Idusk Cats, and the Mongoose— Vermm 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 20s. 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 ' It must be remembered thai this was twenty years ago CHAP. V. REAL COST OF LAND. 83 Government for 1,000 acres of land, at the upset price of 20s. per acre. What has the purchaser obtained for this sum i* — 1,000 acres of dense forest, to which there is no road. The 1,000/. 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 1,000/. 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 imme- diately 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 bear- ing the whole cost of felling, burning, planting, and cleaning, will be about 8/. per acre ; this, in addition to the prime cost of the land, and about 2,000/. ex- pended in buildings, machinery, &c. &c., will bring the price of the land, when in a yielding condition, to 11/. an acre at the lowest calculation. Thus before his land yields him one fraction, he will have invested 11,000/. — 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 Go- S4 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. vemment 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 acknow- ledged 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 unculti- vated state to take the chance of a future rise in the price. This evil might easily be avoided by retaining the present bond fide price of the land per acre, qualified by an arrangement that one half of ths purchase- money should be expended in the formation of roads from the land in question. This would be of im- mense assistance to the planters, especially in a popu- lous planting neighbourhood, 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 CHAP. V. COFFEE-PLANTING. 85 is not only fair to the planters, but would be ulti- mately 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 fact of good communication would expedite the sales of crown lands, which are now valueless from their isolated position. Coflfee-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 colours, expecting that a track once opened to the interior would be the road to fortune. How these golden expectations have been disap- pointed, the broken fortunes of many enterprising planters, can explain. The protective duty being withdrawn, a competi- tion 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 plant- ers. Coffee, which in those days brought from lOOi. to 14OJ. per cwt., is now reduced to from 60s. to 8oj. 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 ie EIGHT YEARS JU CEYLON. cMAP. V. 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 realised. Mer- cantile 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 vigour 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 accord- ingly 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 CHAP. V. COFFEE-PLANTING. 87 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 manage- ment. These are the usual conditions of success in most afifairs ; 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 cer- tain, 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 dis- appointments, may eventally 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 88 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. cold is SO severe as a cold reception ? — no thermo- meter can mark the degree. No fortune, however large, can compensate for the loss of home, and friends, and early associations. This feeling is peculiarly strong throughout the British nation. You cannot convince an English settler that he will be abroad for an indefinite number of years ; the idea would be equivalent to transporta- tion ; he consoles himself with the hope that some- thing 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 little 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 inhabi- tants, 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. Accord- ingly, in a French colony there is a tropical beauty in CHAP. V. FRENCH AND ENGLISH SEI ILERS. 89 the cultivated trees and flowers, which is seldom seen in our own 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 ; every- thing is arranged for permanency, from the building of a house to the cultivation of an estate. He does not distress his land for immediate profit, but from the very commencement he adopts a system of the highest cultivation. The latter is now acknowledged as the most re- munerative 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 vigour 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 ' Vide Mauritius and Bourbon. 90 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, v fine quality with large crops, is from 2,500 feet to 4,000. At one time it was considered that the finest sample was produced at the highest range ; but the estates at an elevation of 5,000 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 con- stant 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, CHAP. V. MANURING. 91 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 nearly half 92 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. 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 neighbour, 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 tangled ruin, exposed to a powerful sun, soon becomes sufficiently dry for burn- ing, 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 underwood having been swept away by the mighty blaze, the land is comparatively clear. Holes two feet square are now dug in parallel lines at a distance of from six to eight feet apart throughout the estate ; and advantage being taken of the wet 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 about four feet, and come into bearing. This, at an elevation of 3,000 feet, they generally do in two years and a half. The stem is CHAP. V. MANURING. 93 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 pro- portioned to the strength of the tree. The whole success of the estate now depends upon constant cleaning, plentiful manuring, and care- ful pruning, with a due regard to a frugal expenditure, and care in the up-keep of buildings, &c. &c. 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 propor- tionately 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 or 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 94 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. this cistern, half filled with a solution of saltpetre and sal-ammoniac, a force-pump is fitted. A layer of weeds and rubbish is now laid upon the platform for a depth of three feet, surmounted by a stratum of good dung from the cattle-sheds, 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 decomposi- tion 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 suit- able for reducing the labour 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. CHAI'. V. THE COFFEE BUG. 95 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 con- sisting of cylindrical copper graters, which tear the flesh from the berry and leave the coffee in its second covering of parchment. It is then exposed to a partial fermentation by being piled for some hours in a large heap. This has the effect of loosen- ing 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 greyish 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 nett profit of fifteen shillings per hundred- weight under favourable circumstances. Unfortu- nately it is next to impossible to make definite calculations in all agricultural pursuits ; the in- clemency of seasons and the attacks of vermin are constantly marring the planter's expectations. Among the latter plagues the * bug ' stands foremost. This H 96 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, v 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 {jfasminum arabicum) are more especially subject to its ravages. The dwelling of this insect is frequently con- founded with the living creature itself. This is in shape and appearance like the back shell of a tortoise, or, still more, like a 'limpet;* it is 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 thousands of these scaly nests exist upon one tree, myriads of insect^ 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 to the ground unripened. This attack is usually of about two years' duration, after which the tree loses its blackened appearance ; this peels off the surface of the leaves like gold-beaters* skin, and they appear in their natural colour. Coffee plants of young growth are liable to complete destruction if severely attacked by ' bug.' • CHAP. V. RA TS. 97 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 phos- phorus, form the most certain bait and poison com- bined. These are some of the drawbacks to coffee-plant- ing, 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, 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 suffi- ciently 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 9» EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. 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 would be 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 allow- ance 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 irason I cannot imagine, unless from the expense of their prime cost, which is about 2/. 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 through- out the highlands of Ceylon, especially in the neigh- bourhood of the coffee estates. There are two ene- mies, 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 CHAP. ». LEOPARDS. 99 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 loo EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. 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, when the hungry leopard prowled stealthily round the cow-house, sniffing the prey within. The strong smell of the leopard at once alarmed 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 cooly slept in the comer of the cattle- shed, whose wandering senses were completely scat- tered 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 CHAP. V. ATTACK OF A LEOPARD, loi of the leopard, and the thumping, trampling, and shuffling which proceeded from the cattle-shed, ex- plained 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 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 towards a corner of the shed. This was the ' beefeater ' 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 any thing or any body. 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 I02 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYION. chaf V, animals, and nothing can be more clear than the dis- tinction.' The ' chetah ' is much smaller than the leopard, seldom exceeding seven feet from the nose to the end of the tail. He is covered with round black * spots ' of the size of a shilling, and his weight rarely exceeds ninety pounds. The leopard varies from eight to nine feet in length, and has been known to reach even ten feet. His body is covered with black ' ringsl with a rich brown centre — his muzzle and legs are speckled with black ^ spots y and his. weight is from iio to 170 pounds. There is little or no distinction be- tween the leopard and the panther, they are synony- mous 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 the animal is wonderful in pro- portion to its weight. I have seen a full-grown bullock with its neck broken by a leopard. 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 • The chetah is the general name for the small species, but it is totally distinct from the well-known chetah or hunting leopard^ whicfc does not exist in Ceylon. CHAi. V. ATTACK OF A LEOPARD. 103 weight, the muscular power, and the momentum of the spring, which render the effects of a leopard's attack so surprising. Few leopards rush boldly upon their prey like a dog ; they stalk their game, and advance crouch- ingly, making use of every object that will afford them cover until they are within a few bounds of their victim. Then the immense power of muscle is displayed in the concentrated energy ot 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 simply by a blow. The blow from the paw is nevertheless im- mensely 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 stroke. 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" I04 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. 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 melan- choly 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 ears and sterns down, looking very miserable, and altogether it was a day when man and beast should have been at home. Presently upon turning a corner of the road, I saw a Malabar boy of about sixteen years of age, squatted shivering by the road-side. 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 de- termined 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 CHAP. V. TRAPS. 105 have died of cold and starvation ; he was a mere skeleton. I sent men to the spot and had him buried by the road-side, 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 had rolled from a shapeless hole among a confused and horrible heap. The leopards had scratched him up and then 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 in principle 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 snare is a gun set with a line, and the bait placed so that the line must be touched as the animal advances towards it. This is certain de- struction to the leopard ; but it is extremely dan- gerous, in case any stranger should happen to be in the neighbourhood who might inadvertently touch the cord. lot) EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON chap. v. Leopards are particularly fond of stealing dogs, and have frequently taken them from the very verandahs 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 accompany- ing 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 power- ful 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 gins for them, but always without success, as some other kind of vermin is nearly certain to spring the trap before the chetah's arrival. Among the variety of small animals thus caught I have frequently taken the civet cat. This is a very pretty and curious creature, about forty inches long from nose to tip of tail. The fur is ash-grey, mottled with black spots, and the tail is divided by numerous CHAP. V. MUSK CA TS. 107 black rings. It is of the genus Viverra^ and is exceedingly fierce when attacked. It preys chiefly upon fowls, hares, rats, &c. Its great peculiarity is the musk-bag or gland, situated nearly under the tail ; this is a projeicting and valved gland, which secretes the musk, and is used medicinally by the Cingalese, on which account it is valued at about six shillings a pod. The smell is very powerful, and in my opinion very offensive when the animal is alive ; but when a pod of musk is extracted and dried, it has nothing more than the well-known scent 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, &c. Of these, the musk rat is a terrible plague, as he perfumes every thing that he passes over, rendering fruit, cakes, bread, &c., perfectly uneatable, and (it is said) even flavouring 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 flavour of musk is com- municated to the wine during the process of un- corking the bottle. There are a great variety of rats in Ceylon, from the tiny shrew to the large ' bandicoot.' This io8 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. v. is a most destructive creature in all gardens, par- ticularly 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 out 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 through- out 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 oi>«. 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 tMs has been proved to be a fallacy, as pitched battles have been witnessed between a mongoose and the most poison- ous 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 CHAP. V, VERMIN OF CEYLON. 109 mongose 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, taran- tulas, centipedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, &c., — of which, more hereafter. no EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. VL CHAPTER VI. 'Game Eyes' for Wild Sports — Enjoyments of Wild Life — Cruelty oi Sports — Native Hunters — Moormen Traders — Their wretched Gums — 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 travelling 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 lOO miles of the wildest countr>' may be traversed without seeing a single head of game, and the uninitiated might become sceptical 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 sur- prising that so few are casually seen by the passing traveller. But there is another reason, that would CHAP. VI. 'GAME EVES* FOR WILD SPORTS. ni frequently apply even in an open country. Unless the traveller 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 colour 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 colours 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 unper- ceived 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 be- I 112 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. come habituated to watchfulness, and their powers are increased in the same proportion as the muscles of the body are by exercise. Not only is an animal imme- diately observed, but anything out of the common among surrounding objects instantly strikes the atten- tion ; the waving of one bough in particular when all are moving in the breeze ; the twitching of a deer's ear above the long grass ; the slight rustling of an animal moving in the jungle. The senses are regu- larly tuned up, and the limbs are in the same condi- tion from continual exercise. There is a pe^\iliar delight which passes all description, in feeling thoroughly well strung, men- tally 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 confi- dence in the rifle, and a bright look-out, 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, leaving neither nook nor hollow unsearched by CHAP. VI. CRUELTY OF SPORTS. "3 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 has skinned the eels alive, or that the lobsters were plunged into boiling water to be cooked. He should remember that a small animal has the same feeling as the largest, and if he condemns any sport as cruel, he must 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 shiHings per 114 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. tail ; it is now reduced to seven shillings in some dis- tricts, and is altogether abolished in others, as the number killed was so great that the Government imagine they cannot 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 104 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 ac- cordingly more easy to approach. One of the oldest native hunters has assured me that he has seen the elephants, when attacked, recklessly expose them- selves 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 ' Since this was written, twenty years ago, game laws have been established in Ceylon, as both the elephants and other animals were rapidly diminished in numl^rs. CHAP. VI. NATIVE HUNTERS. US 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 fbr 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 of destruction, and the more so as it is unceasing. There is no rest for the animals ; in the daytime 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 annihi- late them. The Moormen are the best hunters, and they ii6 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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, &c., to exchange with the village people for dried venison ; but the intention in taking so many bullocks is to bring home the spoils of their hunting trip — in fact, to ' carry the bag.' They take about a dozen leaves of the talipot palm to form a tent, and at night time, the packs being taken off the bullocks, are piled like a pillar in the centre, and the talipot leaves are formed in a circular roof above them. The bullocks are then secured round the tenf 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 CHAP. VI. RIFLES. 117 no animal is spared whose flesh can be passed ofi" 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 fire-arms 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 Ii8 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. VI. very general), but rather let him say ' / cannot carry a heavy gun! and ' / cannot shoot with a rifled There is a vast diflference 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 at live game, but actually knock the sights out, and use it as a smooth bore. This is not the fault of the weapon, it is the fault of the man. It is a common saying in Ceylon, and also in India, that you cannot shoot quick enough with the rifle, because you cannot get the proper sight in an instant. Whoever makes use of this argument must certainly be in the habit of very random shooting with a smooth bore. How can he possibly get a correct aim with 'ball,' even out of a smooth bore, without squinting along the barrel and taking the muzzle sight accurately.? The fact is that many 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 recognise any sight, and while the person is vainly endeavouring to get his aim correctly upon a moving object, the animal is increasing his distance. By way of cutting the Gordian knot, he therefore knocks his sight out, and CHAP. VI. RIFLES. i!9 accordingly spoils the shooting of the rifle alto- gether. 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 ofl" 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. T have never seen any rifles which combine the requisites for Ceylon shooting to such a degree as my four double-barrelled No. lo, 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. I20 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, vj 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 carr}% nine times out of ten. Observe the Swiss rifles for accurate target practice ; again, re- mark 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 barrels will become loose in the stock, and jar when fired.* • My rifles were made with such success upon this plan, by Mr. JHAP. VI. HEAVY BALLS AND HEAVY METAL. 121 There is another reason for the necessity of heavy barrels, especially for two-grooved rifles. Unless the grooves be tolerably deep, they will not hold the ball when a heavy charge is behind it ; it quits the grooves, strips its belt, and flies out as though fired from a smooth bore. A large-bored rifle is a useless incumbrance, unless it is so constructed that it will bear a proportionate charge of powder, and shoot as accurately with its proof charge as with a single drachm. The object in having a large bore is to possess an extra powerful weapon, therefore the charge of powder must be in- creased in proportion to the weight of the ball, or the extra power is not obtained. Nevertheless most of the heavy rifles that I have met with will not carry an adequate charge of powder, and they are accordingly no more powerful than guns of lighter bore which carry their proportionate charge — the powder has more than its fair amount of work. Great care should be therefore taken in making rifles for heavy game. There cannot be a better calibre than No. 10 ; it is large enough for any animal in the world, and a double-barrelled rifle of this bore without a ramrod is not the least cumber- BeaUie, of 205, Regent Street, that they are as sound and unshaken at the present moment as they were when they left his shop ; although they have been tried by many years of hard work, and heavy charges of powder. This has been a satisfactory proof of first-class workman- ship. 122 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, vi some, 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 use six drachms of the best fine-grain powder for the No. lo rifles, and four drachms as the minimum charge for deer and general shooting ; the larger charge is then unnecessary, it both wastes ammu- nition 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 CHAP. VI. BALLS AND PATCHES. t2;| 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 while loading, and should the passage of the powder flask be stopped by a lump, you may fancy the gun is loaded when in fact not a grain of powder has entered it. The patches should be of silk, soaked in a mixture of one part of beeswax and two of fresh hog's lard, free from salt. If they are spread with pure grease, it melts out of them in a hot country, and they become dry. Silk is better than linen, as it is not so liable to be cut by the sharp grooves of the rifle. It is also thinner than linen or calico, and the ball is therefore more easily rammed down. All balls should be made of pure lead without any hardening mixture. It was formerly the fashion to use zinc balls, and lead with a mixture of tin, &c., 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 124 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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-eighths of an inch thick, and six feet high by two in breadth. I fired at this at 170 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 percep- tible effect upon the iron target. It just slightly indented it. I then tried a ball of one-third zinc and two- thirds lead, but there was no perceptible difference in the effect. I subsequently tried a tin ball, and again a zinc ball, but neither of them produced any other effect than slightly to indent the iron. I tried all these experiments again at fifty yards* range, with the same advantage in favour of the pure lead ; and at this reduced distance a double-barrelled No. 16 smooth bore, with a large charge of four CHAP. VI. EXPERIMENTS. ISS 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 ball for any pur- pose, it should be done by an admixture of quick- silver 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 eva- porate. 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 136 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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 400 yards, and thought what a raking that ride would give a body of troops in such colours 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 smooth ball. 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 ol firing at an animal. Therefore, for sporting purposes, the only advantage which the two-groove possesses is the keeping clean ; while the many grooved claims the advantage of quick loading. The latter is by far the more important recom- mendation, especially as the many grooved can be loaded without the assistance of the eye, as the ball, CHAP. VI. THE DOUBLE GROOVE. 127 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 bullet 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-barrelled No. 10 rifles are two-grooved ; and they gave much trouble during the first two years. I have sometimes given my whole weight to the loading rod, when 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 clean- ing, 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 grooved. I have a long two-ounce rifle of the latter class, which 1 have shot with for many years, and it certainly is not K 128 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. SO hard a hitter as the two-grooved No. lo'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 ele- phant shooting, he should think of nothing but the brain, and his acquaintance with 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 ' When this was written, twenty years ago, no one but myself ad- vocated heavy charges of powder for rifles. It is curious to observe the advance made in our knowledge of rifle-shooting within that com- paratively short interval. The world has now discovered the value ot heavy charges ; and the small-bore of the present day is loaded with as much as five or six drachms. After great experience through many years in Africa since this book was written, I adhere to my original opinion, that a No. lo rifle is the best size for general hunting among heavy and dangerous game. This should carry ten drachms of No. 6 grain jv,>wikT, CHAP. VI. ON THE look-out. 129 requires a rifle of such power that the ball will crash through every obstacle along the course directed. To efiect this he must not be stingy of the powder. I have frequently killed elephants by curious shots with the heavy rifles in this manner ; but I once killed a bull elephant by one shot in the upper jaw^ which will 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 Yall6 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 gentle- man 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. lo's, while we each carried a single barrel for deer. The earliest grey tint of morning saw us dressed and ready ; the rifles loaded ; a preliminary cup of hot chocolate swallowed, and we were off while the K 2 I30 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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 towards 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 had sprung from their fallen seeds. For a few hundred yards on either side of the river, the forest extends in a ribbon-like strip of lofty vegetation, in the surrounding sea of low scrubby jungle. The animals leave the low jungle at night, passing through the forest on their way to the river to bathe and drink ; they return to the low and thick bush 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 track, and we accordingly kept close to CURIOUS^ SHOT AT A BULL ELEPHANT I CHAP. VI. CURIOUS SH07' AT AN ELEPHANT. 131 the edge of the river, keeping a sharp eye for foot- prints 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 mon- keys gamboling in the trees. I was carrying my long two-ounce rifle, and I was passing beneath the monkey-covered boughs, when I suddenly observed a young tree of the thickness of a man's thigh, shaking violently just before me. It happened that the jungle was a little thicker in this spot, and at the same moment that I observed the tree shaking almost over me, I passed the immense stem of one of those smooth barked trees which grow to such an enormous size on the banks of rivers. At the same moment that I passed it, I was almost under the trunk of a single bull elephant, who was barking the stem with his tushes ' 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 stand- ing ; and knowing that he would discover me in another moment, I took the direct line for his brain, and fired upwards through his jaw. He fell stone ' There are very few elephants with regular tusks m Ceylon, and their v«ry small ivories are called ' tushes.' 132 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. dead, witli 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 bullet 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 pur- CHAP. VI. STRUCTURE OP SKULL. 133 poses 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 sports- men with as much ease as the Indian species. The shape of the head has nothing whatever to do with the shooting, provided the guns are powerful, and the hunter knows where the brain lies.' When I arrived in Ceylon, one of my first visits was to the museum at Colombo. Here I carefully observed the transverse sections of an elephant's skull, until perfectly acquainted with its details. From the museum I went straight to the elephant stables, and thoroughly examined the head of the living animal ; comparing it in my own mind with the skull, until I was thoroughly certain of the posi- tion of the brain, and the possibility of reaching it from any position. An African sportsman would be a long time in • I have since proved that I was partly in error when I expressed this opinion. The skull of the African elephant is totally different to that of the Indian species. The forehead or front shot, which is so fatal in Ceylon, is seldom effective against an African elephant. This much enhances the danger, as the sportsman is almost helpless should the elephant charge. Although the front shot is unsatisfactory, I have killed African elephants by a shot behind the ear, or at right angles through the temples, with the same immediate effect as produced on the Indian species. 134 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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 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 colour of an elephant's head offers no peculiar mark for a delicate aim. The first thing that a good sportsman considers with every animal is the point at which to aim so as 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 accord- ingly the points for aim, the biain 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 CHAP. VI. 7VSK8 AND NO TUSKS. 135 would retreat with a mortal wound into such dense jungle that no man could follow. Seeing how easily they are dropped by the brain shot, if approached sufficiently near to ensure the correctness of the aim, no one would ever think of firing at the shoulder who had been accustomed to aim at the head. A Ceylon sportsman arriving in Africa would 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 sports- man, 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 down- wards. 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 136 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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 conti- nent of India. This is the more singular, as it is evident from the geological formation that at some remote period Ceylon was not an island, but formed a portion of the main land, from which it is now only separated by a shallow and rocky channel of some few miles. In India the bull elephants have tusks, and the cattle and buffaloes have very large horns. My opinion is that there are elements wanting in the Ceylon pasturage (which is generally poor) for the formation of both horn and ivory. Thus many years of hunting and shooting are rewarded by few trophies of the chase. So great is the natural inactivity of the natives, that no one 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 falls off. In India the skin of the Samber deer (the Ceylon elk) • These, I have since discovered, would be rather above the average of African bull elephants' tusks, although they are often found of much larger size. CHAP. VI. LACK OF TROPHIES, 137 is prized above all others, and is manufactured into gaiters, belts, pouches, coats, breeches, &c. ; but in Ceylon these things are entirely neglected by the miserable and indolent population, whose whole thoughts are concentrated upon their daily bread, or rather their curry and rice. At Newera Ellia the immense number \ji elk that I have killed would have formed a valuable collec- tion of skins, had they been properly prepared, in- stead 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 blade for this style of hunting, as the boar is one of the fiercest and most dangerous of animals. Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search of roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can find, being, like his domesti- cated brethren, omnivorous. He is a terrible enemy to the pack, and has cost me several good dogs within the last few years. Without first-rate seizers it would be impossible to kill him with the knife without being ripped, as he invariably turns to bay, after a short run, in the thickest jungle he can find. There is no 138 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. 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 per- fectly useless, when perhaps most required. I never carry a spear for these reasons, but am content with the knife, as in my opinion, any animal that can beat off good hounds and their master 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 con- cave in the middle. The steel is of the most exqui- site 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 ; being double edged for three inches from the point, it inflicts a fear- ful 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, CHAP. VI. BERTRAAf. 139 being concave, and the extremity is far ht,'avier 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 com- paratively small effect. The accounts of this feat always appeared very marvellous to my mind, until 1 one day uninten- tionally 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 moun- tains 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 tliree being the progeny of the departed hero, old * Smut,' who had been killed by a boar a short time before. They were then just twelve months old, and ' Ber- tram ' stood twenty-eight and a half inches high at the shoulder. To him his sire's valour had descended untarnished, and for a dog of his young age, he was the most courageous that I have ever seen. In ap- pearance he was a tall Manilla bloodhound, with the MO EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. Strength of a young Hon ; very affectionate in disposi- tion, and a general favourite, having won golden opinions in every contest. Whenever a big buck was at bay, and punishing the leading hounds, he was 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 hound in the world could long escape death that rushed so reck- lessly 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 greyhound 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 en- joyed 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 ' Speared through the Ixxiy by the horns of a buck elk, and killed, ihortly after this was written \ CHAP. VI. A BOAR HUNT. 141 about twenty-five miles distance. Tlie 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 lead- ing 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 hill side as though ofl to the Elk Plains below. At this pace I knew the hunt would not last long, and from my elevated stand I waited impatiently 142 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vi. for the first sounds of the bay. Round they turned again, up the steep hill side, and the music slackened a little, as the hounds had enough to do in bursting through the tangled bamboo upon the hill. Presently I heard the rush of the boar in the jungle, coming straight up the hill towards the spot where I was standing ; and, fearing that he might top the ridge and make down the other side towards Dimboola, I gave him a halloo to head him back. Hark, for-r-rard to him ! yoick ! 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 ofif 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 1 was close up, and with my CHAP. VI. A BOAR HUNT. 143 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 down- ward 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 hunt- ing knife. I had struck him across the back just behind the shoulders, and the wound was so im- mense, 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 forw^ard, 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 144 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, vi 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 preju- dice against it from the sights I have seen of their feasting upon putrid elephants, that I never touch it. The numbers ui wild hogs in the low country is surprising, and they are most useful in cleaning up the carcases of dead animals, and destroying vermin. I seldom or never fire at a pig in those districts, as their number is so great, that there is no sport in shooting them. They travel about in herds of one or two hundred, and even more. These are composed of sows and young boars ; as the latter leave the herd when arrived at maturity. H5 CHAPTER VII. Curious Phenomenon — Panorama of Ouva — South-west Monsoon — Hunting Followers — Fort M 'Donald River — Jungle Paths — Danger- ous 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 — For- mer 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 Sports- man ' 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 lOO miles. t46 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. There is a curious phenomenon, however, in this locahty. 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 traveller, 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 6,500 feet above the sea, breasts the driving wind, and seems t. 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, CHAP. vii. PANORAMA OF OUVA. 147 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 re-appears with the monsoon, and its vivid circle remains like the guardian spirit of the valley. It is impossible to do justice to the extraordi- nary 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, height, and dis- tance 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 1,000 feet, the sides of which are clothed by 148 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. 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, «iiat 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 at- mosphere below, and creates a gale that sweeps across the grassy hill-tops with great force, giving the sturdy rhododendrons an inclination to the north-east, which clearly marks the steadiness of the monsoon. It is not to be supposed, however, that Newera Ellia lies in unbroken gloom for months together. One month generally brings a share of uninterrupted bad weather ; this is from the middle of June to the middle of July. This is the commencement of the south-west monsoon, which usually sets in with great CHAP. VII. SOUTH-WEST MONSOON. 149 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 ; — therefore, hunting at Newera Ellia is out of the question during such weather. The hounds would get sadly out of condi- tion, were it not for the fine weather in the vicinity, which then invites a trip. I have frequently walked ten miles to my hunting ground, starting before day-break, 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 400 and 450 pounds without his inside, is not a very easy creature to move at any time, especially in such a steep mountainous country as the neighbourhood 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 I50 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. 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 trained hounds. Being thorough mountaineers, they are extraor- dinary 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 hill sides 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 mary hours, I have at length killed him on the grassy heights above the villages. 1 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 completely blown. CHAP. v^ii. HUNTING FOLLOWERS. 151 However, the first man in, never gets the Hon's share, as the poor old men, with wilHng 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 acquire- ments, 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 EUia, 1 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 inten- tion ; but upon these occasions I never give them the elk. I always insist upon their bringing rice, &c., for the dogs and myself, in exchange for venison, other- wise 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 assists in building the kennel, or carrying a load, or cutting bed grass, or searching for lost hounds, he gets a share of meal. The others bring rice, coffee, fowls, eggs, plantains. fS2 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. vegetables, &c., which I take at ridiculous rates — a bushel of rice for a full-grown elk, &c. 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 every thing 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 C)f jungle-covered hill stretches away from the Moon Plains at Newera Ellia towards 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 Perewell^ (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, CHAP. VII. FORT MCDONALD RIVER. 153 and gained the Hog's Back jungle, both he and the hounds were lost, as no one could follow through such impenetrable forest without knowing either the dis- tance 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 be- came a by-word as a locality to be always dreaded. After a long run one day, the pack having gone ofif 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 EUia 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 slope, until I ascended the opposite range of hills. Descending the precipitous hollow, 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 3,000 feet above me. Thus I had gained the opposite side of the Hog's Back, and, after a stiff pull up the mountain, I re- turned home by a good path, which I had formerly discovered along the course of the river through the 154 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. forest to Newera Ellia, via Rest and be Thankful Bottom and the Barrack Plains ; I had thus made a circuit of about twenty-five miles, and become thoroughly conversant with all the localities. I im- mediately determined to have a path cut from the Badulla road across the Hog's Back jungle to the patinas, which looked down upon Fort McDonald on tlie 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 tlie Badulla road, two miles and a half from my house. My reason for this was, that the elk invari- ably took to the jungle at this spot, which proved it to be the easiest route. This road, on completion, answered every expec- tation, connecting the two sides of the Hog's Back by an excellent path of about two miles, and de- bouching on the opposite side on a high patina peak, which commanded an extensive view. 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 McDonald river, I could be there nearly as soon as he could, and also keep within hearing of the hounds throughout the run. I was determined to take the tent, and regularly hunt up the whole country on the other side of the Hog's Back, as the weather was very bad at Newera CHAP. VII. DANGEROUS LOCALITY. 155 Ellia, while in this spot it was beautifully fine, although very windy. 1 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, Captain Pelly, 37th 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 everyone the idea of being fifty miles away. We hewed out a spacious arbour at the edge of the jungle, and in this I had the tent pitched to pro- tect 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 could not 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 3,000 feet, the river boiled through the rocky gorge until it reached the village of Perewell^ at the base of the line of mountains, whose cultivated paddy fields M 150 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chak vii. 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 ill 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, de- scend 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 moun- tain's side. Thus the entire surface of the mountains forms a series of rugged grass lands, so steep as to be ascended with the greatest 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 I CHAP. VII. GREA T WA TERFALL. 1 57 300 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 accord- ingly fallen into the torrent, choking up the bed, and throwing the obstructed waters into frightful commo- tion. Here they lie piled one upon the other, like so many inverted cottages ; now forming dripping caverns ; then resembling 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 nai rowed gorge, and leaping, striving, and wrestling with unnumbered obstructions, it at length meets with the mighty fall, like death in a madman's course M 2 158 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. \^T. 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 past, when elk w ere not followed up in this locality, the poor beast being hard pressed by the hounds, might have come to bay in one of these fatal basins, in which case both he and every hound who entered the trap, found sure destruction. The hard work, and the danger to both man and hound in this country, may be easily imagined, when it is explained, that the nature of the elk prompts him to seek for water as his place of refuge when hunted ; thus he makes off down the mountain for the river, in which he stands at bay. Now the mountain itself is steep enough, but within a short distance of the 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 ardu- CHAP. vii. START FOR HUNTING, 159 ous country that can be imagined for hunting , but it abounds with elk. The morning was barely grey, 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 direc- tion, 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 i6o EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. down for shelter ; accordingly I struck an oblique direction downwards, 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 grey- hounds buried their noses in the broad track of the buck, so fresh was the scent ; and I waited quietly for ' the find.' The greyhounds stood round me with their ears cocked, and glistening eyes, intently listen- ing 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 im- mense fellow from his track, and I at once saw that he would show fine sport. Just as I was running through the jungle towards the spot, the bay broke, and the buck had evidently gone off straight away, as I heard the pack in full cry CHAP. VII. THE FIND. i6i 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 a branch would give way, and a considerable spill would be the conse- quence. 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 towards the spot, I found the buck's *62 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, vli 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 off the track to let them pass as they swept by, and ' For-r-r-a-r-d to him ! For-r-r-ard ! * was the word the moment they had passed, as I gave them a halloo down the hill. It was a bad look-out for the elk now ; every hound knew their master was close up, and they went like demons. The * Tamby ' • was the only man up, and he and I immediately followed in chase down the precipitous patinas ; running when we could, scrambling, and sliding on our hams, when it was too steep to stand, and keeping good hold of the long tufts of grass, lest we should gain too great an impetus, and slide to the bottom. After about half a mile passed in this manner, I heard the bay, and I saw the buck far beneath, stand- ing upon a level grassy platform, within 3(X) 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, ' Ar exceedingly active Moorman, who was ray great ally in hunung. CHAP. vii. A GALLANT STAG. tftj sending any single hound spinning whenever he came within his range. But the pack quickly re-united, and always returned with fresh vigour to the attack. There was a narrow wooded ravine between me and them, and with caution and speed combined, I made towards 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, turn- ing 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 towards 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 lOO paces above the great waterfall. It was extremely grand ; the roar of the falls so entirely hushed all other sounds, that the voices of i64 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vil. 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, spring- ing 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 crag upon which he had alighted, was so steep, that he could not retain his footing, and he gradually slid down towards the river. At this moment, to my horror, both ' Bran ' and * Lucifer ' dashed across the torrent, and bounding from rock to rock, they sprang at the already totter- ing elk, and in another moment both he and they rolled over in a confused mass into the boiling tor- rent ! One more instant, and they re-appeared ; 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 towards the fall, in spite of their frantic exertions to gain the bank. They were not fifteen CHAP. VII. ' BRAN' AND 'LUCIFER^ 165 feet from the edge of the fall, and I saw them spun round and round in the whirlpools, being hurried towards certain destruction. The poor dogs seemed aware of the danger, and made the most extraordi- nary efforts to avoid their fate. They were my two favourites of the pack, and I screamed out words of encouragement to them, although the voice of a cannon could not have been heard among the roar of waters. They had nearly gained the bank, on the very verge of the fall, when a few tufts of lemon grass concealed them from my view. I thought they were over ; and I could not restrain a cry of despair at their horrible fate. I felt sick with the idea. But the next moment I was shouting hurrah ! they are all right ; thank goodness, they were saved. I saw them 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 meantime, the elk had manfully breasted the rapids, carefully choosing the shallow places ; and the whole pack, being mad with excitement, had plunged into the water, regardless of the danger. I thought every hound would have been lost. For an instant they looked like a flock of ducks, but a few moments afterwards they were scattered in the boil- ing eddies, hurrying with fatal speed towards the dreadful cataract. Poor ' Phrenzy,' round she spun r66 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. in the giddy vortex ; nearer and nearer she ap- proached the verge — her struggles were unavailing — over she went! and was of course never heard of afterwards. 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 ' Plough hoy,' 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 ' 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 ; although very precipitous, the air 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 CHAP. VII. BUCK AT BAY. 167 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 among the rocks that we could not see a foot before us, and we knew not whether the next step would land us on firm footing, or deposit us some hundred feet below. Clutching fast to the long grass, there- fore, we crept carefully on for about a quarter of a mile, now climbing the face of the rocks, now de- scending by means of their irregular surfaces, but still skirting 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 ap- peared to be in * a fix.' The descent had been made to this point by leaping down places which he could 1 68 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vti. not possibly re-ascend, 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 into 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 he charged through the pack, and came almost within reach of the Tamby's spear. It was difficult to kill him. I was afraid to go in at him, lest in his strug- gles 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 CHAP. vii. DEATH OF THE ELK. 169 though to induce the elk to make a move to some better ground. However, the buck very soon decided the ques- tion. I made up my mind to halloo the hounds on, and to ham-string the elk, to prevent him from nearing the precipice ; I gave a shout, and 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, he 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. T 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 Pdrewelle, and then N lyo EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. to re-ascend the opposite mountain of 3,000 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 800 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 smaiLi 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 watercourse, 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 watercourse, 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. CHAP. VII. ELK VENISON. \^\ For my own part, I no not think much of elk venison, unless it be very fat, which is rarely the case. It is at all times more like beef than any other meat, for which it is a very good substitute. The marrow-bones are the ' bonne bouchel 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 600 pounds' weight bounding down a hill-side 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 preci- pices; 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 N 2 1 7a EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap, vii for the river. She had no sooner reached it than I heard her cry out, and as she was closely followed 1 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 slipi>ed 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, CHAP. vii. 'MADCAP'S' DIVE, \rs 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, she popped up 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 admit 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 dan- gerous for hunting. I, therefore, ordered the village people to assemble on the following morning to carry the loads and tent. In the meantime I sent for the dead elk. There could not be a better place for a hunting box than that cave. We soon had a glorious fire 174 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chaF vii. roaring round the kennel pot, which, having beeii well scoured with sand and water, was to make the soup. Such soup ! — shades of gourmands, if ye only smelt that cookery ! The pot held six gallons, and the whole elk^ except a few steaks, was cut up and alternately boiled down in sections. The flesh was then cut up small for the pack ; the marrow bones reserved for * master,' and the soup was then boiled until it had evaporated to the quantity required. A few green chillies, onion in slices fried, and a little lime juice, salt, black pepper and mushroom ketchup, and, — in fact, there is no use 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 every thing and every body 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 Ber- tram's patinas, which lay exactly over the mountain on the opposite side of the river. This being per- pendicular, I was obliged to make a great circuit by keeping the old Newera Ellia path along the river for CHAP. VI 1. FORMER INUNDATION. 175 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 of the ridge, lie Bertram's patinas. The extreme point which I had now gained forms one end of a horseshoe or amphitheatre ; the other extremity is a high mountain exactly opposite, at about two miles' distance. The bend of the horseshoe forms a circuit of about six miles, the rim of which is a wall of precipices and steep patina mountains which are about 600 or 700 feet above the basin or the bottom of the amphitheatre. The tops of the moun- tains are covered with good open forest, and ribbon- like strips descend to the base. The base forms an uneven shelf of great extent, about 2,000 feet above the villages. This shelf or valley appears to have suffered at some remote period from a terrible inun- dation. Landslips of great size and innumerable deep gorges and ravines furrow the bottom of the basin, until at length a p^'incipal 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 176 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vn. 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 \ery fond of lying under the preci- pices 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 find- ing hound. However, the hounds were unkennelled at break CHAF. VII. 'BLUEBEARD' LEADS OFF. 177 of day, and, the tent being pitched at the bottom of the basin, we commenced a pull up the steep patinas, hoping to find somewhere on the edge of the jungles. ' There's scent to a certainty ! — look at old Blue- beard's nose upon the ground, and the excited wagging of his stern. Ploughboy notices it ; now Gaylass — they'll hit it off presently to a certainty, though it's as cold as charity. That elk was feeding here early in the night ; the scent is four hours old if a minute. There they go into the jungle, and we shall lose the elk ten to one, as not another hound in the pack will work it up. It can't be helped ; if any three hounds will rouse him out, those are the three.' For a couple of hours we had sat behind a rock sheltered from the wind watching the immense pros- pect before us. The whole pack were lying around us, except the three missing hounds, of whom we had seen nothing since they stole away upon the cold scent. That elk must have gone up to the top of the 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 178 EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. easily towards us across an extensive fiat 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, he immediately de- scended, and shortly after he reappeared on the small patina between the two ravines, within 300 yards of us. Here, the strong gale gave him our scent. It was a beautiful sight to see him halt in an instant, and, drawing up to his full height, sniff the warning breeze and wind the enemy before him. Just at this moment I heard old ' Bluebeard's' deep note swelling in the distance, and I saw him leading across the table-land as true as gold upon the track; * Ploughboy' and ' Gay lass' 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 towards it, would head the elk and turn him from his course. Up to the present time they had not observed him. Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute sus- pense. 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 CHAP. vii. DANGER AHEAD, 179 gave preference to that of hearing, and gallantly con- tinued 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 endeavour 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 2CX) yards, in such an uphill race, f8o EIGHT YEARS IN CEYLON. chap. vii. both Bran and Lucifer managed to lose sight of him in the undulations. Now was the time for Hecate's enormous power of loin and thigh to tell, and, never losing a moment's view of her game, she sped up the steep mountain side, and was soon after seen within fifty yards of the buck all alone, but going like a rocket. Now she has turned him ! — that pace could not last up hill, and round the elk doubled, 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 pre- cipice of about 250 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. CHAP. VII. THE ELK'S LEAP. i8i 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 1 ' and the next instant he was flying through the air to headlong destruction ! Bounding from a projecting rock upon which he struck, he flew outwards, and, with frightfully in- creasing 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/