Mr. E. L. Layard's Rambles in Ceylon. 389 



each other. Going along the road I at last saw, deliberately feeding 

 along the grassy margin, a beautiful muntjac. Stopping the gig, I 

 raised my rifle and fired at about eighty yards, and the welcome 

 "thud" of ball came back to my ears. The buck staggered, fell, 

 and then crept into the thicket : to jump out and run to the place 

 was the work of a moment, but my quarry had disappeared into the 

 densest jungle I ever saw. Penetrate it I could not, and some na- 

 tives, who joined me on hearing the crack of the rifle, refused to aid 

 me with their caicatties (billhooks), afliraiing that this animal, M'hen 

 infuriated by a wound, inflicted fearful injuries with its curved teeth 

 and horns. I have no doubt, from what I gathered of their con- 

 versation, that when I was gone they brought their dogs and secured 

 my game. 



I reached Allittane, my next stage (twelve miles), at eleven 

 o'clock, and took up my quarters in a temple Madua*, after pro- 

 mising that I would not permit my followers to enter and defile the 

 temple itself. 



This consisted of a simple shed, supported on posts, with a pyra- 

 midal framework in front of it, which is decorated on festival days. 

 Both it and the Madua stood in an enclosure formed of strong stakes 

 driven into the ground for the purpose of keeping off the elephants, 

 of which I was told great numbers were roaming about. The Madua 

 stood so close to this fence, that I am sure an elephant thrusting his 

 trunk through tlie interstices could have pulled me out of bed if he 

 had chosen. I heard them all round me through the night, passing 

 and repassing to and from the tank, which was close by. The village 

 was a few hundred yards off, and all my followers, with the exception 

 of "Man Friday" and a Malabar servant of B.'s who was returning 

 with me, decamped thither. This I discovered about midnight, 

 when my horse, who was tethered to the head of my stretcher, 

 alarmed by the very near approach of a herd of elephants, thrust his 

 nose through my mosquito curtains and awoke me. 



The tank is, or rather was, a very fine one, but, unluckily, the 

 Bund has given way, and it is now little better than a large swamp. 

 If it was in good repair it would irrigate many acres, but it is now 

 nearly useless, and I could procure neither paddy nor straw for my 

 cattle. The villagers said that they had not raised crops for two 

 years, and that they lived principally on fish, with which the tank 

 abounded; in fact, all these waters swarm with Cyprini, Siluri, and a 

 species of Cottiis, I think, from its appearance. What a treat an 

 ichthyologist would have among the tanks and rivers of this country ! 

 The variety of fish is enormous, and well worth attention. I wish I 

 knew some way of preserving them. The Cypriiius is the dominant 

 family, and many of them grow so large that I cannot help thinking 

 they might form a most valuable adjunct to the table of both rich 

 and poor, if they were properly and carefully bred. Near the large 

 towns and villages they should be protected during the spawning 

 season, and the voracious Siluri destroyed. These latter rapacious 



* Porch. 



