Chap. II.] BINTENNE. 419 



pretensions. It is the point at wliicli the principal road 

 turns off to Welasse. a district whose fertihty in ancient 

 times procured for it the name Wel-laksya, or " tlie 

 hundred thousand rice fields," which it bears to tlie 

 present day ; but the miserable state of its cultivation ill 

 sustains its title to that designation. To remain in such 

 wretched quarters longer than was absolutely necessary 

 was by no means desirable, and by daybreak we were 

 again on horseback for Bintenne. 



On our arrival we found the large pansela, or dwell- 

 ing of the priests attached to the great temple, hung 

 with white cloth and prepared for our reception ; and 

 our tent furniture having been arranged, we took up 

 our residence for a day or two ; if not in agreeable 

 quarters at least under shelter from the storm ; w^ith 

 leisure to open our portmanteaus, which had been wetted 

 in forchng the rivers, and to await more favourable 

 weather for resuming our journey. The tents also were 

 so soaked, that the elephants were unequal to their weight, 

 and could not proceed until they had been dried in 

 the sun. 



In the district through which we had been passing 

 the population was thin and cultivation rare. Occasion- 

 ally paddi-fields were to be seen near the Mahawelh- 

 ganga, or terraced high up in the recesses between two 

 hills where a stream afforded the means of irrigation ; 

 and now and then we could descry, on the tops of some 

 of the mountains, the temporary Chena villages, as 

 they are called, of squatters, who settle there fi-oni time 

 to time to burn down patches of the jungle and reap a 

 single crop of dry rice or millet, after which the soil is 

 left to fallow for a series of years before the operation 

 can be repeated. But in the vicinity of Bintenne, the 

 country is infinitely more rich and productive. Eice is 

 cultivated on an extensive scale, and we found none of 

 the usual difficulties in purchasing food for our people or 

 fodder for our horses. 



The town of Bintenne is situated in a wide level plain, 



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