A Jungle Trip. 259 



elephants some years ago, and I have no doubt we 

 could have had good sport at this time ; but V. Baker's 

 leave was so fast expiring, and the natives' accounts of 

 the distance through the Veddah country were so vague, 

 that we had no choice except to push straight through 

 as fast as we could travel, until we should arrive on the 

 Batticaloa path. 



We took leave of our friend the Rhatamahatmeya ; 

 he had provided us with good trackers, who were to 

 accompany us through the Veddah country to the Park ; 

 but I now began to have my doubts as to the knowledge 

 of the ground. However we started, and after skirting 

 the Doolana tank for some distance, we rode five miles 

 through fine forest, and then arrived on the banks of the 

 Mahawelle 1 river. The stream was at this time very 

 rapid, and was a quarter of a mile in width, rolling 

 along between its steep banks through a forest of mag- 

 nificent trees. Some hours were consumed in trans- 

 porting the coolies and baggage across the river, as the 

 canoe belonging to the village of Monampitya, on the 

 opposite bank, would only hold four coolies and their 

 loads at one voyage. 



We swam the horses across, and, attending carefully 

 to the safety of the cook before any other individual, 

 we breakfasted on the opposite bank, while the coolies 

 were crossing the river. 



. After breakfast, a grave question arose, viz., Which 

 way were we to go ? The trackers that the headman 

 had given us now confessed that they did not know an 

 inch of the Veddah country into which we had arrived 

 by crossing the river, and they refused to go a step far- 

 ther. Here was a " regular fix !" as the Americans 

 worJd express it. 



