Ascent of Adams Peak. 407 



the aflernoon, as far as the little village of Gilli-Mali, seven 

 miles further on. We had been provided by C. W. Layard, 

 Esq., the Government Agent in Colombo, with letters of in- 

 troduction to Ms deputy, Mr. Mooyart, at Ratnapoora, 

 who, however, we unfortunately found was absent from 

 home. Next day, how^ever, we had unmistakable evidence 

 that our letters had, very shortly after our departure, reached 

 the hands they were intended for, by a variety of pre- 

 cautions which the hospitable gentleman must have at once 

 arranged with a view to our greater comfort. While yet 

 on the second-half of our road to Gilli-Mali, night overtook 

 us, and we prosecuted our march by torch-light through 

 the dense jungle. Our guides and porters had shown some 

 reluctance to enter this jungle, j)artly on account of the 

 swarms of land-leeches {litchies, as they are termed here, 

 doubtless by a corruption of the English name), which are 

 especially active during the night, partly from other causes 

 of anxiety. Accordingly, they kept reciting Cingalese ditties, 

 alternated with shrill yells, or shouted, so as to be heard at a 

 distance ; whether to drive away evil spirits, or to frighten 

 the chetaJi or leopard, we could not ascertain. No long 

 time elapsed ere we ourselves began to perceive traces of 

 having been victimized by that most uncomfortable of guests, 

 the land-leech. The naked Hindoos were incessantly occu- 

 pied with xDulling off these painful blood-suckers, and we had 

 to call a halt from time to time, in order to loosen and carefully 

 fling them aw^ay, as they had succeeded in reaching the skin, 



