Sir,
Your obedient servant,
R. MOWBRAY,
Act. D. Adj.-Gen.
Immediately on the receipt of this letter I made the necessary
preparations for our march.
Previous to entering on a detail of the operations of the detachment
which I had the honour to command, it may be proper to offer a few
remarks relative to the district of Batticolo. This district is
situated on the south-east side of the island, and is the most remote
from the seat of government of all our possessions in Ceylon. The fort
is built on a broad river of the same name, navigable for small
vessels, and about four miles from the coast. Our territory here
extends from fifteen to twenty miles up the country, and continues low
and flat, as far as the Candian frontier, which is formed by a chain of
steep and lofty mountains. Speaking of this part of the country, I
shall avail myself of the beautifully descriptive language of the Rev.
Mr. Cordiner, in his History of Ceylon:--"The south-east coast, viewed
from the sea, is particularly picturesque and romantic. The country, in
the highest degree mountainous, presents hills beyond hills, many
beautiful and verdant, others huge and rocky, of extraordinary shapes,
resembling ruined battlements, ancient castles, and lofty pyramids."
Of these mountains we have little knowledge. The natives represent them
as covered with immense forests, the northern parts of which are
inhabited by the Vedas, or Bedas, a singular and savage tribe, nearly
in a state of nature, and who hold no intercourse with the other
inhabitants of the country. They are by many considered as the
aborigines of the island.
Beyond this chain, and to the southward, are the still more rugged
mountains of Ouva, celebrated for the secure asylum they afford to the
kings of Candy, when driven from their capital. It was here that, in
1631, the whole Portuguese army, with their general, Constantin de Sáa,
in attempting to pursue the King in his retreat, were, in consequence
of the defection of the Modiliars, overpowered, and perished to a man.
The small-pox had of late depopulated a great part of the district of
Batticolo; those who were not themselves affected with the malady (from
the dread entertained by the natives of India of this dangerous
disease), deserted those who were, flying, to avoid contagion, to the
woods. This, together with the general disaffection of the natives to
our cause, rendered it impossible to procure above half the number of
Coolies required for the use of the detachment. I was therefore obliged
to supply the deficiency by carriage bullocks, a circumstance which
afterwards occasioned considerable embarrassment and delay.
On the 14th of September I received a letter from the acting
Adjutant-General, dated at Jaffnapatam, the 8th of the same month, of
which the following is a copy:--
_To Capt. Johnson_,
Commanding Batticolo.