THE RHATAMAHATMEYA'S TALE. 121 spearmen were in advance, and the axemen were divided into two parties, one on either flank, with an equal number of ropemen. The instant that he charged, the whole body of men ran forward at full speed to meet him; still he continued his furious onset, undismayed by the yells of a hundred men. The spearmen halted when within twenty yards, then turned and fled; this had been agreed upon beforehand. The elephant passed the two flanks of axemen in pursuit of the flying enemy; the axemen immediately closed in behind him, led by the husband of the murdered girl. By a welldirected blow upon the hind leg, full of revenge, this active fellow divided the sinew in the first joint above the foot. That instant the elephant fell upon his knees, but recovered himself directly, and endeavoured to turn upon his pursuers; a dozen axes flashed in the sun-beams, as the strokes were aimed at the other hind leg. It was the work of an instant: the massive limb bent powerless under him, and he fell in a sitting posture, utterly helpless, but roaring with mad and impotent fury. The ropemen now threw nooses over his trunk and head; his struggles, although tremendous, were in vain; fifty men, hanging their weight upon several ropes attached to his trunk, The rendered that dreaded weapon powerless. sharp lances were repeatedly driven into his side, and several of the boldest hunters climbing up the steep ascent of his back, an axe was seen to fall swiftly and repeatedly upon his spine, on the nape of his tough neck. The giant form suddenly sunk; the spine was divided, and the avenging blow was dealt by the husband of his late victim. The destroyer was no more. The victory was gained without the loss of a man." The natives said that this elephant was mad; if so, it may account in some measure for the unheard-of occurrence of an elephant devouring flesh. Both elephants and buffalos attack man from malice alone, without the slightest idea of making a meal of him. This portion of the Headman's story I cannot possibly believe, although he swears to it. The elephant may, perhaps, have cracked her head, and torn his victim to pieces in the manner described, but the actual "eating" is incredible. CHAP. VI. CHARACTER OF THE VEDDAHS. DESCRIPTION OF THE VEDDAHS. - - DOOLANA is upon the very verge of the most northern point of the Veddah country, the whole of which wild district is the finest part of Ceylon for sport. Even to this day few Europeans have hunted these secluded wilds. The wandering Veddah, with his bow and arrows, is occasionally seen roaming through his wilderness in search of deer, but the report of a native's gun is never heard; the game is therefore comparatively undisturbed. I have visited every portion of this fine sporting country, and since I have acquired the thorough knowledge of its attractions, I have made up my mind never to shoot anywhere but there. The country is more open than in most parts of Ceylon, and the perfect wildness of the whole district is an additional charm. The dimensions of the Veddah country are about eighty miles from north to south, by forty in width. A fine mountain, known as the "Gunner's Coin," is an unmistakable landmark upon the northern boundary. From this point a person may ride for forty miles without seeing a sign of a habitation; the whole country is perfectly uncivilised, and its scanty occupants, the "Veddahs," wander about like animals, without either home, laws, or religion. I have frequently read absurd descriptions of their manners and customs, which must evidently have been gathered from hearsay, and not from a knowledge of the people. It is a commonly believed report that the Veddahs "live in the trees,” and a stranger immediately confuses them with rooks and monkeys. Whoever first saw Veddah huts in the trees, would have discovered, upon inquiry, that they were temporary watch-houses, from which they guard a little plot of korrakan from the attacks of elephants and other wild beasts. Far from living in the trees, they live nowhere; they wander over the face of their beautiful coun CHARACTER OF THE VEDDAHS. 125 try, and migrate to different parts at different seasons, with the game which they are always pursuing. The seasons in Ceylon vary in an extraordinary manner, considering the small size of the island. The wet season, in one district, is the Wherever dry season in another, and vice versa. the dry weather prevails, the pasturage is dried up; the brooks and pools are mere sandy gullies and pits. The Veddahs watch at some solitary hole which still contains a little water, and to this the deer and every species of Ceylon game resorts. Here his broad-headed arrow finds a supply. He dries the meat in long strips in the sun, and cleaning out some hollow tree, he packs away his up savoury mass of sun-cooked flesh, and fills reservoir with wild honey; he then stops up the aperture with clay. the The last drop of water evaporates, the deer leave the country, and migrate into other parts where mountains attract the rain and the pasturage is abundant. The Veddah burns the parched grass wherever he passes, and the country is soon a blackened surface; not a blade of pasture remains ; but the act of burning ensures a sweet supply shortly after the rains commence, to which the game and the Veddahs will then return. In the |