TRAVELLING IN CEYLON.--WILD ELEPHANTS AND THEIR HABITS.--ENCOUNTER WITH
A BUFFALO.--FROM KANDY TO NEWERA-ELLIA.
A day was devoted to letter-writing, and to drives and walks around
Kandy, and then the boys asked the Doctor where they were to go next.
"There are two or three routes from which to choose," was the reply,
"and each has its own peculiar advantages, or the reverse. I have been
considering them, and have selected the one that gives us the most to
see in the little time we have at our disposal. We will start to-morrow
morning for Newera-Ellia, which is on the road to Adam's Peak."
"Perhaps we will climb the peak," exclaimed Frank, "and repeat our
experience of Fusiyama in Japan."
"Perhaps!" echoed Fred; "but we won't be certain of it till we have done
it. But please tell us about the other routes you thought of," he added,
addressing himself to Doctor Bronson.
"I had thought of going," responded the Doctor, "to some point on the
eastern coast, and there taking a steamer for India; meantime I would
have ordered our heavy baggage sent around by water, so that it would
meet us on arrival. There are several of these places, and the towns and
the routes leading to them are pretty much alike. The most important and
interesting is Trincomalee--pronounced Trínk-o-ma-_lée_--which you can
find on the map by drawing a line nearly due north-east from Kandy."
The boys had a map of Ceylon before them, and by following the Doctor's
instructions they speedily found the place he had mentioned.
"You observe," he continued, "that it is quite a distance from Kandy to
Trincomalee, and there is no railway to carry us. We should be obliged
to travel by the ordinary roads of the country; conveyance would be
difficult to obtain, and our fare not of the best. We should have a
tiresome journey of several days through the forests and swamps of the
eastern part of Ceylon, and I doubt if the novelty of the scenery would
repay us. The same would be practically the case if we went to Jaffna or
Kalpentyn, other places that I had in mind--and, besides, we might wait
some time there before finding a steamer to take us where we wish to
go."
"Well," answered one of the boys, with a laugh, "please tell us about
Trincomalee and what we might see on the way there, and then we shall be
all ready for Newera-Ellia."
"Trincomalee is a town of about 20,000 inhabitants," responded the
Doctor, "and stands on one of the finest bays in Asia, if not in the
world. It would be a place of great importance on account of the
magnificent port, if the country back of it amounted to anything; but,
unfortunately, the region for a long distance is marshy and nearly
useless, and so the fine harbor of Trincomalee is of no consequence.
Moreover it is quite unhealthy, owing to the malaria from the swamps;
and it is a common remark in Ceylon that when the Government wishes to
get rid of its soldiers, it sends them to Trincomalee to die of fever.
[Illustration: THE LAST OF THE GIANTS.]
"As to what you could see on the way I might name several things. We
should see a tropical forest in all its glory, and make a practical
acquaintance with the trees by resting in their shadows, and perhaps
climbing their trunks through the aid of the parasitic plants that cover
them. There is one tree a few miles out of Kandy which is the remainder
of quite a cluster that formerly stood there. All the rest have been
killed by the parasites, and this one, the last of the giants, is
completely covered, and cannot stand many years longer.
"Then we should pass some of the tanks for which Ceylon is famous, or,
rather, for which she was famous centuries ago."
One of the boys asked what these tanks were, and the Doctor explained
their nature.
"Rice will not grow without water, and in ancient times a system was
adopted of making artificial ponds or tanks to retain water that could
be used in the seasons when the rains were not falling. The first of
these ponds of which we have any record was built by one of the kings of
Ceylon 437 years before our era, or more than 2300 years ago. It became
the fashion for kings to build tanks for the benefit of their people,
and at one time there was a great number of them; two kings are said to
have built sixteen tanks each, and the fashion of building them
continued more than a thousand years.
"Some were built in the level country, and others among the hills; many
still remain, but the greater number are in ruins and quite useless. The
engineers who built them became famous, and in the eighth century the
Rajah of Cashmere sent to Ceylon for engineers to construct tanks for
him.
[Illustration: TANK SCENE IN CEYLON.]
"The largest of these works in Ceylon is the great tank of Kalewera,
which was built 1400 years ago. It is now in ruins and useless, but
enough of it remains to show what it was originally; it is supposed to
have been forty miles in circumference, and had an embankment of stone
twelve miles long. There was another tank twenty miles in circumference,
which was formed by damming a small stream with an embankment nearly two
miles long and sixty feet wide; but, like most of the others, it is now
useless.
"The Government has recently expended a great deal of money in repairing
some of the ancient tanks. In 1867 they restored the old regulations of
the kings of Ceylon relative to the use of water, the preservation of
the embankments, and the settlement of disputes that are liable to
arise. The English law-makers who examined these regulations said it
would be very difficult to improve upon them; and as they were suited to
the wants and habits of the natives, they were re-enacted in a body.
"So much for the tanks of Ceylon. Another novelty that we might enjoy in
the journey to the coast would be the possible sight of a troop of wild
elephants, as we should go through the region over which these great
animals wander."
[Illustration: ELEPHANTS AT HOME.]
"That would be a sight worth seeing," one of the boys answered; "but the
subject of elephants is not a new one, as you know we visited the
elephant hunting-ground in Siam, and heard all about the mode of
catching the game."
"Quite right," replied the Doctor; "but, while we are about it, I may as
well tell you some things about elephant-hunting here that we did not
learn in Siam, because they are peculiar to Ceylon. In Siam they hunt by
driving into the corral, as we saw, but in Ceylon they not only have the
corral system, but a mode of hunting by _Panickeas_."
The boys opened their eyes, and asked what the Panickea was. Was it
something to eat or wear, or was it a weapon to be used in killing the
game?
"You are wrong in each guess," said Doctor Bronson; "the Panickea is a
professional elephant-hunter, and his people have followed the business
from time immemorial. He has the skill and cunning of the North American
Indian or any other wily savage, and possesses a great deal of bravery,
which is frequently called into use in his profession. The Panickeas
live in the northern and north-eastern parts of Ceylon, and when not
engaged at their time-honored business they devote themselves to
fishing, or the pursuit of other game than the elephant, or they hire
out as guides and servants to foreigners.
"Two of these men will go on an elephant-hunt armed only with a few
strong ropes of different sizes. They track the elephant through the
forest or in the long grass of the open plain, and steal up to him with
the agility of cats, and without being seen. The elephant has a habit of
swinging one of his hind-legs when standing still; they take advantage
of this circumstance to slip a noose over his leg; and if he is not
swinging it they tickle him, as though a fly were biting, and thus
induce him to make the desired movement.
[Illustration; TYING UP AN ELEPHANT.]
"As soon as they have noosed his leg they dart from under his feet; if
they are in the forest, one of them takes a quick turn of the rope
around a tree, but if in the open country, they drop it and run toward
the nearest woods. The elephant pursues them, trailing the rope after
him, and as soon as they are in the shelter of the trees they manage to
secure him in the way I have described. Then, while he is tied by the
hind-leg, one of the men worries him and attracts his attention, while
the other slips a noose around one of his fore-legs. Then he lies down
and rolls in anger, and while he is doing it they bind him still more.
"When he is tied up and safe they leave him, and he is subdued by the
process that we learned about in Siam. Great numbers of elephants were
formerly caught in this way and sent to India, where there has always
been a good market for them, and they are also largely employed on
public works in Ceylon. When the English obtained possession of this
country, elephants were so numerous that as many as 200 could be taken
at a single drive in a corral, and the beasts did great damage to the
rice crops in the part of the country where they lived. A reward was
offered for all elephants killed, and so great was the slaughter that
the bounty was paid for 3500 killed in the north of Ceylon in the years
1846-'48, and for 2000 killed in the southern part in the five years
previous to 1856.
"This wholesale destruction made such a scarcity that not enough
elephants could be obtained for the public works, and the Government not
only took off the bounty but ordered that no more licenses to shoot
elephants should be granted.
[Illustration: ELEPHANTS UNDER A BANYAN-TREE.]
"Elephants generally travel in herds varying from half a dozen to a
hundred or more; but it is not unusual to find solitary elephants that
have become separated from the herds from causes that are yet unknown to
anybody. These solitary elephants are known as "rogues;" the name
describes their character, and is an exact translation of the Cingalese
'hora-alliah' or thieving elephant. They don't even associate with other
rogues, but travel singly, and do all the mischief they can; nearly all
the damage to crops is caused by them, and some of them delight in
concealing themselves near the roads and paths, and killing men who
attempt to pass. They are very hard fighters, and the glory of killing a
rogue elephant is greater than that of slaughtering a whole herd of
ordinary ones.
"Another game animal that we might encounter on our way to the coast is
the buffalo. Remember, the buffalo of Ceylon is no relative of the
American buffalo, but is quite a different animal. He is domesticated,
and used for ploughing and other heavy work, just as he is in the
Philippine Islands and other parts of the East we have visited. He is
docile enough when tame, but when wild he shows a good deal of ugliness
not only in his appearance but in his disposition.
"There are many herds of wild buffaloes in the northern and
north-eastern parts of the island, and they prefer the open country to
the forests; during the daytime they like to lie in the mud or in pools
of water, and are generally to be found around the old tanks in the
lower parts of the country. They get into the water with only their
heads visible, and if they can find a mud-bank to roll in when water is
scarce, they are quite well satisfied. When a herd is disturbed, and
there is a possibility of danger, they draw up in line with some of the
oldest in front, and when they get in this position it is an even chance
whether they will advance or retreat. They often rush at the natives
when the latter are not looking for them, and more natives are killed by
the buffaloes than by all other kinds of wild animals put together.
[Illustration: A NATIVE TREED BY A BUFFALO COW AND CALF.]
"I once saw a native driven up a tree by a buffalo cow and calf, but he
was not altogether unoffending in the business, as he had fired at the
cow and wounded her. He just managed to keep clear of her horns and
seize a lower limb of the tree; he clung to his gun, and as soon as he
got safely among the limbs he reloaded and shot his pursuer. The calf
remained, and he fastened a rope to its neck and with some difficulty
dragged it home.
[Illustration: A DANGEROUS PREDICAMENT.]
"The same day I was pursuing a buffalo that tried to escape by swimming
a small pond. I ran around the head of the pond so as to meet him when
he came out of the water, and had just entered it when he struck the
solid ground. I fired when he was about twenty yards away, and put a
bullet into his shoulder, which was the best spot I could aim at as he
stood. I followed it with another bullet in the other shoulder, and with
the same effect; the blood flowed steadily from both the wounds, but he
did not show the slightest inclination to fall; on the contrary, he
stood there and faced me, and made ready to charge. I felt for another
cartridge to finish him with, or at all events to keep him where he was.
To my horror, I found that I had no more cartridges about me, and my
servants who carried my guns and ammunition were at least half a mile
away.
"I dared not turn around to run, as my doing so would have been the
signal for him to pursue me, and if he did, I had not the slightest
chance of escape from being gored and trampled to death. I saw my
gun-bearer coming, but he was still far off, and the brute was making
ready for a charge. Men must think quickly under such circumstances, and
my wits came to my aid.
"I had some loose powder in a flask, and a handful of small coins that
would just go into the muzzle of the gun. Luckily the coins were in a
rouleau, just as you see gold in a banking-house; it took me only a few
seconds to drop in a heavy charge of powder and the roll of coins on
top, and the moment he rushed on me I fired.
"The load struck him full in the face and stunned him; the instant I
fired I turned and ran for a tree about a hundred yards away, and the
time gained by bewildering him with the shot was just enough, without a
second to spare. He stood near the foot of the tree and watched me for
some time, the blood pouring from the two wounds I had made in his
shoulders; after a while one of my attendants crept through the grass
and passed my rifle to me, with a lot of fresh cartridges, and I was
soon able to finish the brute. Sir Samuel Baker had a similar experience
while hunting in Ceylon; in fact, it was so nearly like mine that the
two stories have sometimes been mistaken for each other.
"And now that you know what might be seen on the road to Trincomalee,"
said Doctor Bronson, rising from his chair, "we will get ready for
Newera-Ellia. We go there partly by rail, and partly by carriage-road;
the train starts at seven o'clock, and leaves the main line at the first
station from Kandy. The branch carries us to Gampola, and there we leave
the train and take a carriage the rest of the way."
They were off the next morning, according to the programme; the railway
only carried them a dozen or fifteen miles, and then they mounted what
was called a coach, though it was really nothing more than a strong
wagon, adapted to the rough roads of the mountains. The first part of
the ride took them through a series of rice-fields, coffee plantations,
and native villages of huts thatched with palm-leaves: they had an
opportunity of seeing the native children playing before the doors in
all the glory of nothing to wear.
[Illustration: NATIVE HOUSE AND CHILDREN.]
Up and up went the road, and after a time the coffee estates gave way to
tea plantations. The Doctor told the boys that coffee in Ceylon grows at
any elevation between 1800 and 4000 feet, and tea flourishes between
4000 and 6000 feet. Tea culture in Ceylon is in its infancy, and most of
those who have tried it have found it unprofitable; but they are
persevering, and feel confident that it will turn out all right. The
tea-planters say they have the same climate as Java, and if the latter
can produce tea to advantage, there is no reason why it should not be
profitable in Ceylon.
They had charming scenery all the way, and in many places it was
unusually attractive. At one station (where they changed horses) the
view from the veranda included a magnificent water-fall, where a
good-sized river dashed in three streams over a precipice and united
just below in a single torrent. As they rode along, the panorama of
mountain and valley was constantly changing, and every minute seemed to
have a new surprise in store for them.
They reached Newera-Ellia late in the afternoon, and were glad to
surrender their seats in the uncomfortable coach. They had found the air
growing steadily cooler as they approached their destination, and as the
afternoon advanced it became necessary for them to don their thick
overcoats. A fire was burning in the parlor of the hotel, and our
friends were not at all reluctant to accept some of the heat it threw
out.
There were carpets on the floors, and the walls of the house were made
as though there was really a desire to exclude the cold rather than to
welcome it. To the youths who had been so long in the tropics, and had
struggled with the heat nearly every day and hour since their departure
from Hong-Kong, it was rather a strange sensation to tread on soft
carpets and sit around a cheerful fireplace, and they began to wonder
whether they were really in Ceylon, or were dreaming.
We will let the boys tell the story of their visit to this part of the
island, which they did in their next letter to friends at home.
Following the plan they had found so effective, they divided the labor
and devoted themselves to different parts of the description; they did
it so skilfully, that when they had finished the letter it appeared to
have been the effort of but one person instead of two. Perhaps they had
a hint from Doctor Bronson, and possibly they did the whole work without
assistance; _quien sabe?_