Ceylon the Mecca of Buddhism.--The Drives about
Kandy.--Fruit of the Cashew.--Domestic Prison of Arabi
Pasha.--"Egypt for the Egyptians."--Hillside
Bungalows.--Kandy Hotels at a Discount.--The Famous
Botanical Garden of Ceylon.--India-Rubber-Trees, Bamboos,
and Flying Foxes.--Dangerous Reptiles in the Garden.--The
Boa Constrictor.--Success of Peruvian-Bark Raising.--Vicious
Land Leeches.--The Burrowing and Tormenting Tick.--Where
Sugar comes from in Ceylon.
Ceylon is the classic ground of Buddhism and Kandy is its Mecca,
whither trend the devout followers of the prophet in myriads yearly.
Rock-cut temples and other shrines are scattered over the hilly
portions of the island, some of which are large, some small, but each
one having a stone image of Buddha wrought after the conventional
pattern. Most of these cave-temples are over a thousand years old, and
some are twice that age, overgrown by jungle vines and tall palms.
Next to Christianity, Buddhism is the most widely diffused religious
institution in existence. Its code of morals, taken as a whole, is as
perfect as the world has ever seen formulated. Does the reader
understand that most of the great truths and wise axioms designed as
rules of life which are prescribed in our Bible are found in the
Buddhist scriptures? Above all, let us remember that the followers of
this ancient oriental creed, professed at this writing by one third
of the human family, have never shed a drop of blood to make a
proselyte.
The drives about Kandy are over the most excellent roads, to follow
which is like threading the paths of a continuous garden, while the
air is laden with the fragrance of sweet-smelling lemon grass.
Home-like, picturesque bungalows dot the hillsides as well as the
shores of the lake already described. The roads which lead around the
hills afford beautiful views; both far and near, turn where we may,
the locality is full of pictures, enduring, and lovely to recall. This
especially applies to a perfectly constructed road, known as Lady
Horton's Walk, the views from which are indescribably beautiful. It is
a broad, winding way around one of the most prominent hills, designed
and constructed by the wife of Sir Wilmot Horton. As to the fragrant
lemon grass, it covers most of the hillsides in the more open mountain
districts of Ceylon, and is particularly abundant in the central
province. There is an essential oil produced from this pungent grass
which is known in commerce as citronella, a delightful and universally
favorite extract. Wild blackberries and raspberries abound in this
district. There is a peculiar fruit found here as well as elsewhere in
the island, called the cashew, which persists in outraging all our
ideas of consistency by producing its nut outside of the skin. This
recalls a somewhat similar eccentricity exhibited by cherries in
Australia, which have the stone which forms their seed on the
exterior instead of the inside centre, like good, wholesome,
well-behaved cherries in our own country. The fruit of the cashew is
not palatable, but its juice, when distilled, produces a strong
intoxicating spirit. The nuts are edible when roasted like chestnuts.
In one of the large villa-bungalows nestling on the hillside
overlooking the verdant amphitheatre of Kandy lived that notable
political prisoner, Arabi Pasha, with his ample harem and a host of
body servants, forming a bit of Egyptian domestic life transported
bodily to this Indian isle. It will be remembered that he was exiled
from Cairo by the English about twelve years since, because he was a
famous and successful fighting general among his people, his special
battle-cry being "Egypt for the Egyptians." One feels a lingering
sympathy for a man who fought bravely for the liberty of his country,
very nearly conquering the British troops on the sanguinary field of
Tel-el-Keber; yet this man deserves more blame than praise, for it was
he who recklessly burned Alexandria, and caused a reign of
assassination in that devoted city for many terrible days. Though a
prisoner like the first Napoleon when held at St. Helena, Arabi has
never hesitated to freely express his political opinions, bitterly
condemning his conquerors. He is still--and very properly we
think--the ardent advocate of "Egypt for the Egyptians," and even in
his advanced years would promptly head a rebellion against English
rule in his native land, were he at liberty to do so.
A report has lately been circulated that Arabi Pasha has been
permitted to return to Egypt, but as to its truth the author cannot
answer.
Each of these hillside dwellings, like that occupied by Arabi Pasha's,
covers a large space of ground. They are seldom over one story in
height, and have a tall, steep-pitched roof of red tiles or thatch,
and wide verandas running entirely round the whole structure, half
covered by thrifty creepers and flowering vines. The roof generally
reaches beyond the veranda until it ends six or eight feet from the
ground. The interior of the dwelling is dark and cool, as the doors
and windows all open beneath the shade of the roof. No sunshine can
penetrate these dwellings, and consequently there is an inevitable
unwholesome dampness ever present inside them.
The population of Kandy amounts to some twenty-two or three thousand,
embracing but a few Europeans,--that is, comparatively speaking. Those
of the latter class not included in the government departments are
mostly interested in tea, coffee, or cinchona raising, in the
immediate neighborhood. The Europeans have established two small
hotels, or at least they are called hotels; but any one obliged to tax
their hospitality for a considerable length of time has our sincere
commiseration.
The author's experience on the occasion of his first visit to Kandy
in the matter of hotel accommodation was not especially agreeable.
Passing over the abundance of insectivorous annoyances,--centipedes
upon the walls, gigantic cockroaches on the floor, and ants upon
everything,--it was rather severe to be obliged to remove one's bed
from beneath a leaking roof, which admitted a steady stream of water.
When it rains in these latitudes, it does so by wholesale; not in
little pattering drops, but in avalanches and miniature Niagaras.
However, a large tub being produced, we were lulled to sleep by the
dull sound of dripping water, to awake next morning and find the
receptacle overflowing. The novelty of the situation often smooths
over the keen edge of discomfort. The fireflies that night floated
about the chamber in such numbers as to dispute the illuminating power
with the primitive light supplied to guests, which consisted of a
small button of cork, with a bit of cotton wicking, floating upon a
shallow dish of cocoanut oil.
There are several missionary chapels in Kandy, besides an Episcopal
church, a library, and a reading-room for public use. Very little
visible business seems to be transacted here, but as to the natural
surroundings of this inland capital, the scenery, the arboreal
beauties, and the floral charms, too much cannot be said in
commendation. It seems to a casual visitor to be the most attractive
district in the island, forgetting, as every reasonable traveler
learns to do, the few local annoyances.
The justly famous Botanical Gardens of Ceylon form a marvel of plant life,
and are situated about three miles from Kandy proper. The grounds are
entered through a grand avenue of india-rubber-trees, whose tall,
widespread branches are heavy with polished dark green, leather-like
leaves, vividly recalling the splendid avenue of palms in the public garden
of Rio Janeiro, situated behind the tall peak of the Corcovado,--"the
Hunchback." This garden of Ceylon occupies about a hundred and fifty acres,
and is surrounded on three sides by the Maha-velle-Ganga. The
india-rubber-trees are buttressed by large, exposed white roots, very
anaconda-like at first view, showing that this tree draws its subsistence
largely from atmospheric air. The roots often spread a hundred and fifty
feet in diameter, so twisted and peculiar in shape that the natives call it
the snake-tree. The removal of the milk-white secretion by tapping does it
no apparent injury, it being a distinct product, flowing in a different
channel, it would seem, from the sustaining sap. We were informed that a
healthy, full-grown tree might be drawn upon daily for two thirds of the
year with good results. The Ceylon species of the india-rubber-tree is not
nearly so productive of the peculiar secretion which makes its value as
those which are indigenous to South America. Indeed, it is not a native of
this Indian island, but was introduced by the Portuguese while they held
sway. No attempt is made here to produce the article known as gutta-percha
in commercial quantities, and, indeed, the tree is not sufficiently
abundant in Ceylon. The headquarters of this industry are at Para, on the
coast of Brazil, where the product of the india-rubber-tree forms the great
staple of the exports, and its collection in the neighboring forests gives
employment to a large share of the native population.
This elaborate garden, one league south of Kandy, probably forms the
choicest and most extensive collection of plant life in the world. It
is, except for the nature of its tropical vegetation, like a well-kept
European conservatory or park, ornamented by choice lawns and
magnificent groups of trees, special families being arranged together.
The average temperature here is recorded at 77 deg. Fahr. This, together
with the natural and abundant moisture, insures the very best results.
A small stream runs through the middle of the grounds, widening here
and there into a tiny lake, where a great variety of aquatic plants
thrive luxuriantly, including the gorgeous and ever attractive lotus,
together with many other examples of the lily family. This garden has
been organized for about seventy-five years,--to be exact, it was
opened in 1819,--during which period the original idea has been well
adhered to, of introducing by its means such plants as are not
indigenous, but which might, if cultivated here, be of real benefit to
the inhabitants. Fortunately, it has always been presided over by an
enthusiastic and scientific horticulturist. All kinds of useful
vegetation of tropical regions are represented, their nature studied,
and a record kept of the same, while seeds, cuttings, fruits, and the
like are freely distributed to farmers and planters, European and
native. The variety of palms in these grounds is a revelation to the
average visitor, as few persons know how many distinctive examples
there are of this invaluable member of the arboreal family of the
East, some of which are stupendous in size. We have been told that the
garden contained two hundred and fifty distinct varieties of the palm,
but one may reasonably have doubts as to so large an aggregate. Among
them are talipots, palmyras, cocoanuts, the slender areca, the date
palm, and the fan palm, already described, spreading out its broad
leaves like a peacock's tail. This is often called the traveler's
tree, because the trunk is never without a supply of pure water with
which to quench his thirst. When pierced with a knife at the juncture
of the stems, it yields copious draughts of water. Here one sees palms
from Cuba, Guinea, China, Africa, and Brazil, each exhibiting some
special characteristics of importance, and all thriving, together with
clumps of climbing rattans. These latter, not thicker than one's
finger, yet wind about the trees from two to three hundred feet in
height, having the longest stem of any known plant. Small groves of
nutmegs, cloves, mangoes, citrons, and pepper-trees attract the
visitor's attention, together with budding cinnamon and cardamom
bushes; nor must we forget to mention the fragrant vanilla-tree, which
to the author recalled a delightful experience in far-away southern
Mexico, where a mountain side near Oxala was rendered lovely and
delicious by the profuse growth of this flavoring product of the
tropics.
Here and there a tall, thrifty acacia is seen, suffused with
golden-yellow bloom in rich profusion. Excepting the California
pepper-tree, with its drooping clusters of useless but lovely scarlet
berries, the varieties of the acacia are unrivaled as beautiful shade
trees. When in full bloom, under the dazzling rays of an equatorial
sun, they seem to be all on fire, forming a strong contrast to the
prevailing dark green of the tropics.
The flower of the cinnamon-tree is white, and when a range of country
containing many acres in bloom comes into view, the effect is very
beautiful. The best cinnamon gardens are nearest to the sea coast, and
those so situated produce the most pungent bark. On the occasion of
our visit, special notice was taken of a group of bamboos in the Kandy
garden, the bright yellow stems being over a hundred feet in height,
and each stem at the base measuring from eight to ten inches in
diameter. It was a native of the spot, and, as we were assured, was a
chance development. The rapidity of its growth, which is a remarkable
characteristic of this tropical grass,--for that is its family,--is
almost incredible. The cluster here spoken of was a little more than
ninety days old, and, as the superintendent informed us, it increased
in height twelve inches and more each twenty-four hours. This group of
bamboos formed a grove by itself, two hundred feet in circumference,
its feathery, misty foliage yielding gracefully to every pressure of
the breeze, softly fanning the surface of the still water on whose
brink it flourished. The bamboo, like the palm, is one of the most
valuable and universal products of the tropics. It would require an
entire volume to enumerate the various uses to which these two are
applied by native skill. The division of the garden called the fernery
is a delightful resort, presenting a collection ranging from the
low-growing maiden-hair to the tall tree-fern with broad-leaved,
tufted top and declining branches.
One can well understand how easily a botanist may become absorbed in
the study of this interesting family of plants. The variety and
delicacy of form which they exhibit is infinite, ranging from the
minutest specimens, almost like moss, to trees of thirty feet in
height, with palm-like plumes. In the famous gardens just outside of
Calcutta, the author visited a large conservatory occupied solely as a
fernery, in which over thirty thousand specimens were classified.
Mischievous flying foxes abound in the neighborhood of Kandy, proving
a serious annoyance to the planters, often taking the lion's share
when the fruit is ripe, always selecting with greedy intelligence the
most desirable product of the trees. They move in flocks, a hundred or
more together, stopping where-ever the food is most inviting. The
natives seem to have a mysterious dread of and never touch them, but
European hunters sometimes kill and eat them, declaring the flesh to
be much like that of the hare. The creature measures nearly three feet
between the tips of its extended wings. The flying fox is unable to
take flight from the earth, and if found there can easily be caught,
nor can they run under such circumstances, but, waddling along, seek
the nearest tree-trunk, which they ascend with great ease by means of
their long, sharp claws. From the branches they throw themselves with
a strong impetus, skimming for considerable distances through the air,
like the flying squirrel of the low latitudes, and the flying possum
of Australia. This last animal, like the kangaroo, is found only in
the country just named, where the natives, having no religious
compunctions as to the sacredness of animal life, kill the possum and
feast heartily upon its body roasted in hunter's style.
It is not quite safe to walk in the moist and thickly overgrown parts
of this garden of Peradenia,--the local name,--as there are dangerous
snakes which one is liable to encounter, besides other reptiles of low
latitudes, not always poisonous, but best avoided. Professor Haeckel
tells us how terrible he found the nuisance of mosquitoes and stinging
flies in this tropical garden. "There are of course mosquitoes
certain in all such places," he says, "but far more dangerous than
these annoying insects are the poisonous scorpions and millepeds, of
which I have collected some splendid specimens,--scorpions six inches
and millepeds a foot long." The chameleon is not so common as the
last-named creatures to which the professor refers, and is not so
noticeable, since its nature is to closely reflect the color of the
tree or stone on which it may chance to rest for the time being. They
are not liable to be detected unless in motion.
The ticpolonga, a deadly snake, the terror of the natives, is often
found in this garden. The largest snake in Ceylon is the boa or
anaconda, which is often seen here measuring over twenty feet in
length. It feeds mostly on small animals, and is very little feared
either by the natives or Europeans. It is not an agreeable sight,
nevertheless, as the reader may suppose, to see a large boa moving
along the ground near one's person, and free to act its own pleasure.
Their deadly coil about any animal is almost sure death. The many
vivid stories which have been published about the aggressive nature of
this creature are, we believe, mostly exaggerations. The poisonous
cobra, whose bite is as fatal as that of our dreaded rattlesnake, is
much more to be feared under ordinary circumstances. The larger snake
must be very hungry and greatly annoyed to induce it to attack any
other than small animals like a rabbit or a rat, and as a rule they
avoid the presence of human beings. Nevertheless, a boa will sometimes
be seized with an aggressive purpose without any apparent cause. This
has been proved in several instances where, after having been freely
handled in a museum for months without harm, the creature has suddenly
applied its great muscular strength to the purpose of strangling the
exhibitor, winding its body with lightning-like rapidity about his
throat and body. Under such circumstances, the life of the man has
been saved by the instant action of associates, who severed the
snake's body in several places with sharp knives. Any other attempted
relief would have led to an increase of the strangling process. In one
instance, at an exhibition in this country, it was necessary to cut
the snake away piecemeal with a butcher's knife before the terrible
muscular contraction of its body was relaxed. It was accomplished none
too soon, as the insensible victim was already nearly dead, and was
only resuscitated after prolonged and skillful effort.
When the coffee planters of this central district were almost in
despair at the failure of their coffee crops, owing to the blight
already described, the director of the Botanical Garden called their
attention to the importance of devoting their lands to other purposes.
The possibility of cultivating the cinchona-tree to advantage was
suggested, as well as the raising of tea. Both these plans were given
a trial, and were gradually adopted. Now, both industries flourish
vastly in Ceylon, to the mutual advantage of the planters and the
world at large. The seed of the cinchona-tree is first planted in
nurseries, and when a year old the plant is removed to prepared
grounds, where it makes rapid progress. The tree does not begin to
yield the bark which constitutes its peculiar value until it is seven
or eight years old, when a ready market is found for all that can be
produced, and at fairly remunerative prices. The latest statistics to
which the author could gain access showed that five years since,
Ceylon was exporting sixteen million pounds of the medicinal bark
annually, an aggregate which would rival nearly any South American
port, Peruvian or otherwise.
While in this vicinity, one of our party was bitten in several places
on the lower limbs by what proved to be land leeches, a species of
this small creature which lives in dry grounds and also upon trees,
burrowing in the bark. From the proportions of a darning-needle, this
active and somewhat venomous little pest swells to the size of a
pipe-stem, when it becomes filled with blood. Their bite often creates
a painful sore, especially if one's circulation happens to be in an
unhealthy condition. To protect themselves against this abomination,
Europeans wear what are called leech-gaiters, reaching up to the
knees, made from stout, close-knit canvas, or russet leather. The true
water leech also abounds in the marshes and ponds of the island, and
is quite destructive to animals which frequent these places. Domestic
buffaloes seek the ponds in which to submerge their bodies to get rid
of stinging flies and voracious mosquitoes, but they sometimes lose
their lives by the combined attack of these more formidable enemies,
the water leeches. After one of these bloodsuckers is fairly fixed
upon the body of man or beast, it will not give up its hold until it
has drawn its fill of blood. When this condition is reached, the leech
drops off, and, like a snake after a hearty meal, it becomes dormant
for a long time.
There are plenty of reptiles in all parts of Ceylon, but, as we have
said, they keep mostly hidden from human beings. The gardens and woods
are infested with ticks, so called, resembling small crabs, and armed
with similar forceps with which to torment their victims. One almost
requires a microscope to see these little black atoms, though they
possess gigantic ability to inflict painful and highly irritating
bites. This insect quickly buries itself under the skin, where it
creates a lasting sore unless it is thoroughly eradicated, together
with the poison that surrounds it. The natives use cocoanut oil as a
preventive to the attack of the ticks, and it is true that they will
drop from any spot where they encounter this pungent lubricator. In
some parts of Ceylon, the leech pest is so prevalent as to render
whole districts quite uninhabitable by human beings.
At Kandy as well as in the vicinity of Point de Galle, frequent
attempts have been made to establish sugar plantations, but the soil
or the climate, or both, proved to be unfavorable to the growth of the
cane. Natives, here and elsewhere, raise a few hills of it about their
cabins, which they chew for its sweetness, when the stalk becomes
sufficiently ripe; it is especially the delight of children, under
this condition. With the aid of proper fertilizers there would seem to
be no good reason why sugar-cane could not be profitably grown in
Ceylon.
The species of palm familiarly known as the jaggery palm is largely
cultivated in the central province of the island. Its sap is boiled
down so as to produce a coarse brown sugar, which is much used by all
classes in its crude state. Why it is not refined for more delicate
purposes, since the sugar-cane is not available, it is impossible to
say. Farina is also extracted from the pith of this palm, forming, as
is well known, a very palatable and nutritious food. The indolent
natives must be spurred by foreign enterprise into obtaining this
valuable article of export, before they will labor to procure it.
Open-handed Nature, in her bounteous liberality, spoils these heedless
children of the tropics.
Near Kurunaigalla, one of the ancient capitals of the island, situated
about sixty miles northeast of Colombo and ten or twelve miles north
of Kandy, there are some very interesting ruins, together with
several enormous boulders of red rock, which somehow strike one as
being very much out of place. They are too enormous to have been
transported by glacial action, by which method we account for the
position of so many big boulders in the northern portions of our own
continent. One of these in the neighborhood we are speaking of is
called "The Elephant's Tusk," towering six hundred feet into the air;
but why it is thus named is not obvious. There are very old plumbago
mines hereabouts, and a group of mouldering stone lions, elephants,
and a figure designed to represent that fabulous creature, the
unicorn. These recall somewhat similar groups one sees in the wilds of
continental India, mementos which are believed to antedate by ten or
fifteen centuries the origin of the famous "buried cities" of Ceylon.