MULLAITIVU. 273 



To my mind, no other beverage in the world, either natural or 

 artificial — not even champagne at its best — can equal, in refreshing 

 dehciousness, the water of a half-ripe cocoanut fresh from the tree. 

 They are best when there is a goodly deposit of soft meat on the 

 walls of the nut, for at that stage the water has a sharp, sparkling 

 acidity, and a delicate cocoanut flavor, the Hke of which is unsur- 

 passed by any other liquid I ever tasted. The water is not so good 

 when the nut is j^erfectly gi-een, and before any meat has been de- 

 posited. 



It may be onh' a fancy, but it really seemed to me that the 

 water of the Ceylon cocoanuts have a richer and finer flavor than 

 any others I have tasted. Being a hard di'inker, it took five nuts per 

 day to supply my wants ; and I am sure no old toper ever enjoyed 

 his dram more than I did those dehcious draughts. "^Taen inclined 

 to imbibe, cut the hard green husk from around the blossom end 

 of the nut with a shai-p hatchet or hunting-knife, until it is whittled 

 down to a point, with the shell of the nut in sight. 



On cutting through the shell to make a drinking-hole, I have 

 often seen the water spurt up two feet high, and sometimes into 

 my face. To get the fullest possible enjoyment of the draught it 

 should be taken directly from the nut, nature's own cup. "VMien 

 poured into a drinking vessel its delicate aroma is lost. After this 

 coohng draught, the experienced hand vnll attack the soft meat on 

 the inside with a spoon without any delay, for it is a dehcious 

 morsel. 



Being desirous of obtaining some elephant skulls and a lot of 

 odd bones, I learned, after many inquiries, of the death of an ele- 

 phant the year previous, near a village called Nedunkenni, nineteen 

 miles southwest of Mullaitivu. Making this an excuse for a little 

 collecting trip back from the coast. I hired a covered bullock bandy 

 and set out on the morning of April 2d, accompanied by Henrique, 

 intending to be gone five days. "Wliile I am not partial to journal- 

 ism in books of travel, in this instance I can hardly do better than 

 to copy the daily record of that trip. 



" Tuesday, April 2(7. — A short distance from Mullaitivu we took 

 the wrong road, and the stupid driver did not discover his mistake 

 until we had travelled foui- miles upon it Now four miles out of 

 one's way when the sun is scorching hot is a serious thing, espe- 

 cially when one has to turn back that distance, and is thereby un- 

 able to reach the end of the journey that day. I could scarcely keep 

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