474 THE XORTHEEX FORESTS. [Part IX. 



quented all day long by pelicans, that come at sun- 

 rise to fisli, and at evening return to their sohtary 

 breeding-places remote from the sea. The strand is 

 hterally covered with beautiful shells in endless va- 

 rieties ; and, in the course of our very short visit, we 

 added largely to our collections. The shell-dealers 

 f]"om Trincomalie derive their principal supphes from 

 Venloos, and know the proper season to visit it for each 

 particular variety ; but the entire coast, as far north as 

 the Elephant Pass, is indented by httle rocky inlets, 

 where shells of every description may be collected in 

 great abundance. 



This trade is exclusively in the hands of the Moors, 

 who clean the shells with great expertness, arrange them 

 in satin-wood boxes, and send them to Colombo and all 

 parts of the island for sale. In general, the specimens are 

 more prized for their beauty than valued for their rarity, 

 thoug;h some of the " Ai'irus " cowiies ^ have been sold as 

 high as four guineas a pair. 



Our elephants and horses swam the river about a mile 

 from the sea, and after a tedious and wearisome day's 

 jom^ney, we pitched our tents in a marsh beside the salt 

 lake of Panetjen-Kerny. Before reacliing oiu" camp for 

 the night, I rowed for five miles in a canoe, up one 

 of the sohtary inlets of the Xatoor, between forests of 

 mangroves, and landed near the ruins of the ancient stone 

 biidge, called " Vanattey Palam," that trachtion says led 

 to the residence of the Wanninchee, or ancient queen of 

 the Wanny, the ruins of which are still visible in the 

 jiuigle. The bridge had been constructed of single stones ; 

 and huge squared pillars still stand in the middle of the 

 stream, supporting transverse pieces of prodigious dimen- 

 sions, evidently designed to cany a wooden platform as 

 the roadway. 



Oiu' com^se towards Panetjen-Kerny had lain through 

 one continuous marsh, frequently some inches under 



' Cyprcca Aryus, 



