chap. vii. HAMBANTOTTE COUNTRY. 151 



ful — wide extending plains of white sand and low 

 scrubby bushes scattered here and there ; salt lakes oi 

 great extent, and miserable plains of scanty herbage, 

 surrounded by dense thorny jungles. Notwithstand- 

 ing this, at some seasons the whole district is alive 

 with game. January and February are the best 

 months for elephants and buffaloes, and August and 

 September are the best seasons for deer, at which time 

 the whole country is burnt up with drought, and the 

 game is forced to the vicinity of Yalle* river and the 

 neighbouring pools. In the wet season this district is 

 nearly flooded, and forms a succession of deep marshes, 

 the malaria from which is extremely unhealthy. At 

 this time the grass is high, and the elephants are very 

 numerous. 



When I was in this part of the country the 

 drought was excessive ; the jungle was parched, and 

 the leaves dropped from the bushes under the in- 

 fluence of a burning sun. Not a cloud ever appeared 

 upon the sky, but a dazzling haze of intense heat 

 spread over the scorched plains. The smaller streams 

 were completely dried up, and the large rivers 

 were reduced to rivulets in the midst of a bed of 

 sand. 



The whole of this country is a succession of flat 

 sandy plains and low jungles contiguous to the sea- 

 coast. The intense heat and the glare of the sun 

 rendered the journey most fatiguing. I at length 



