228 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Aprii 



1904. 



CATAMARAN WITH SAIL, CEYLON. 



On the evening of December 5 we sighted Minecoi island, a 

 low lying circular bit of land crowded with graceful cocoanut 

 palms, and a well known copra producing place. On the day 

 following, at 1.15 in the morning, we passed behind the great 

 breakwater and dropped anchor in Colombo harbor, in the 

 midst of a great fleet of passenger and tramp steamers of all 

 nations, native boats, lighters, etc. Most of the men aboard 

 were on deck, although pajama clad, and as the coaling was 

 soon to begin, I went ashore, passed the little black customs 

 inspector without difficulty, and, getting in a jinrikisha, was 

 soon at the Galle Face Hotel and sound asleep in a big wide 

 bed that seemed delightfully steady when contrasted with even 

 the comfortable berths of the Himalaya. 



It may perhaps be well just here to refresh the reader's 

 knowledge of Ceylon with the following facts. The island lies 

 south of India proper, and is 271 miles long and 137 miles 

 broad, and contains about 24,700 square miles. It has under 

 cultivation, or used for pasture, some 3,500,000 acres — more 

 than a fourth of its area. Of this about 520,000 acres are devoted 

 to rice and other grains, the next largest planting being tea, of 

 which there are about 400,000 acres. 

 Other important products are cocoa- 

 nuts, spices, coffee, sugar, cacao, to- 

 bacco, essential oil grasses, etc. 



The population of the island is 

 about 3,500,000, of which less than 

 10,000 are Europeans. The majority 

 of the natives are Singalese, of 

 whom there are over 2,000,000, the 

 other races being Tamils (of whom 

 there are nearly a million), Burgh- 

 ers, Eurasians, Moors, Malays, Ved- 

 dahs (aborigines), and so on. 



The island has an excellent gov- 

 ernment of the paternal sort, ad- 

 ministered by a governor who is 

 appointed by the king of England. 

 He is assisted by an executive coun- 

 cil of five, but has power to overrule 

 their advice. There is also a legis- 

 lative council of nine, including 

 members of the executive, and to- 

 gether with eight unofficials ap- 

 pointed by the governor, represent- 

 ing the mercantile and planting in- 

 terests and the native communities. 



The |island became a British possession in 1795. Prior to 

 this the Dutch, who had held it for 138 years, had wrested it 

 from the Portuguese, who ruled it for I4t years. Interesting 

 reminders of both of these conquests are found in the high 

 sounding Portuguese names that many of the Singalese bear, 

 and in the Burgher types which remain quite Dutch both in 

 name and appearance. 



Neither the Dutch nor the Portuguese had ever conquered 

 the whole of the island, which was accomplished by the British 

 in 181 5. Since then there have been a few rebellions, which, 

 however, were easily suppressed. During the last one, in 1848, 

 some 2000 up country Singalese were put to flight by 30 Malays 

 who wore the British uniforms, a proof that the ancient warlike 

 spirit of the Kandyans is practically extinct. 



My first task after I was comfortably settled at the Galle Face 

 was to buy a sun helmet, or topee, which I was lucky enough to 

 find in one of the native stores that occupy the ground floor of 

 the hotel. There are two dangers against which visitors to 

 this part of the world must guard most carefully; one is ex- 

 posure to the sun, and the other a sudden chill. In no part of 

 the world, if reports are true, is the sun so deadly as here, but 

 the danger may be reduced to a minimum if one will only listen 

 to the advice of the older residents, and take reasonable pre- 

 cautions. A pith sun helmet is indispensable, as straw or felt 

 hats are sources of danger, and a cap is worst of all. In addi- 

 tion, one should at first carry an umbrella as well. Nor is the 

 danger present only at midday, or when there are no clouds. 

 It is practically as bad at 7 in the morning, and when the sky 

 is wholly covered with clouds. The whole habits of the dwel- 

 lers here — that is, the Europeans, speak of this danger. Men 

 and women wear sun helmets and carry sun umbrellas, while 

 broad verandahs and close lattices guard the houses. Even the 

 railway carriages have, in addition to curtains, visor like pro- 

 jections to keep out the searching rays of Old Sol. There 

 have been cases even of sunstroke through the eyes, from the 

 intense glare reflected from white roads or from the water, 

 while a single shaft of sunlight, entering a crevice in a shut- 

 ter, and falling on a man's temple, has been known to result 

 fatally. 



STREET SCENE IN COLOMBO. 



