280 T\VO TEAES ITT THE JUNGLE. 



edge of tlie strait. How delicious and refreshing was the bath I 

 took. It was a beautiful moonlight night, cool and balmy — a 

 heaven after the hades of the day. 



"April 15th. — Crossed Elephant Pass just at sunrise. It is a 

 shallow strait of salt water, a mile and one-third in width at the 

 narrowest part, where the road crosses, and only two feet in depth 

 at the middle. The bottom is hard gray sand, and to wade through 

 the cool sea-water is a delightful diversion to both man and beast. 

 Strange to say, I saw not a single bird at the Pass on either side. 



"There is a fine rest house on the Jaffna side. On getting 

 across, we struck into as fine and smooth a " metal " road as I ever 

 wish to see, and then we rattled along gaily enough. We now came 

 to great gi'oves of cocoa and Palmyra palm-trees, but in the latter I 

 find nothing to admire. The Creator made the Palmyra out of 

 ragged odds and ends of leaves and stems, and never finished the 

 job at that. They look like seedy, weather-beaten, ragged, and 

 unshaved tramps. 



" Shot a jungle cock for breakfast, and also killed a wandei'oo, 

 but it fell into a j)ool of water, sank like so much lead, and I declined 

 to go in after it. Breakfasted at the Pallai rest house, twenty-four 

 miles from Jaffna. In the compound I found some very interesting 

 specimens of laterite or ' cabook ' — a very curious stone much used 

 for building purposes in Ceylon. When we halted just before dark 

 to rest and eat our curry and rice, the handymen requested per- 

 mission to go on to Jaffna, get the bandys unloaded and out of 

 sight before daybreak, to save themselves from being fined for not 

 having ' registered ' at Mallaitivu. I said ' go,' and they went. I 

 lay down to sleep, and the next moment, as it seemed to me, Hen- 

 rique aroused me by saying, 'Sir! sir! This is the rest house, 

 sir.' Sui'e enough, we were in Jaffna, and it was three o'clock in 

 the morning. 



" By the time I had packed up my entire collection, and finished 

 up my work in the Northern Province quite to my satisfaction, the 

 little steamer Serendib touched at Jaffna on her way around the 

 island, and after sending aboard thirteen large cases of specimens, 

 a fifty -gallon cask, and a large crate of tui'tle skeletons, we took 

 passage to Colombo." 



