138 THE EAGLE OWL. 



here with their engineers and courtiers, superin- 

 tending the formation of this dam. Stones, 

 trimmed and carved all over with Bhuddist 

 hieroglyph, brought from far distant quarries, 

 must have been laid here by trained elephants 

 and slaves in far distant days. 



To those who have read the ' Mahawanso,' it 

 must be evident that a Cinghalese population 

 once existed of six or seven millions, whereas 

 to-day it is under two. The land, upon which 

 all this Jungle and ' cheddi ' now teems, must 

 once have borne extensively terraced rice fields 

 irrigated from this enormous reservoir. Huts, 

 thatched with paddi straw, and villages must 

 have nestled here under their cocoa nut trees, 

 giving out each morning a busy swarm of 

 labourers to till the fertile land. And where 

 are all gone now ? Perhaps some sudden call 

 to arms obliged those peaceful people to 

 exchange their hoes and wooden ploughs for 

 swords and spears of steel and ebony, and to 

 hasten off in defence of their distant capital and 

 sacred tooth. 



Or a panic stricken exodus may have been 

 made before a death-breathing epidemic of 

 cholera or small pox, which report told them 

 was decimating their villages daily. A desertion 

 of the district was made whatever may have 

 been the cause. 



The entire appearance of the land would 

 rapidly alter as soon as it was neglected. A 

 few short months would be sufficient for weeds, 

 wild plants, and parasites to grow up and choke 



